Frankfurt (AFP)

German authorities will "probably" discover software rigging the level of polluting emissions in other Mercedes-Benz cars than those already sanctioned, warned the Daimler group on Friday.

"It is likely that the national automobile agency KBA will publish additional notices in which it will identify that other diesel cars from Mercedes-Benz are also equipped with illegal software," the automaker wrote in its annual report.

The KBA has already ordered the recall of nearly a million cars of the brand while the manufacturer disputes the illegality of the "engine management functions" pinned.

In late September, however, the company agreed to pay a fine of 870 million euros for selling non-compliant vehicles.

Faced with the threat of new recalls, the manufacturer has interrupted "preventively" the sale of certain models, he still explains.

Charges of 5.5 billion euros linked to recalls of cars fitted with airbags from supplier Takata and to the "dieselgate", a sprawling scandal born in 2015 at Volkswagen, contributed to drop the annual net profit by more than 60 % last year, to 2.71 billion euros.

According to its annual report, the group more than doubled its provisions for legal risks (4.9 billion euros entered in the balance sheet at December 31, 2019 against 2.1 billion at the end of 2018) and increased its provision for possible related costs guarantee procedures at 8.7 billion euros (versus 7 billion at the end of 2018).

"The increase is linked to administrative and legal proceedings concerning Mercedes-Benz diesel cars in different regions and markets and an updated risk assessment" for a "more extensive reminder" concerning Takata airbags, writes Daimler.

The automaker also acknowledged that it will be "difficult" to meet environmental standards in "some countries".

Like the entire sector, Daimler is engaged in a race to reduce the level of CO2 emissions from its cars and comply with strict standards in force this year in the EU, under penalty of heavy sanctions.

The boss, Ola Källenius, has, on several occasions, considered that these new standards were a great challenge for the manufacturer. While he is hopeful of meeting standards "in the next few years", that is "not guaranteed" for 2020 and 2021, he said last week.

In addition to its negative effect on sales, the epidemic of the new coronavirus could in turn lead to "major disruptions in production, purchasing markets and the supply chain," says Daimler.

© 2020 AFP