Mercedes-Benz EQE Owners File Class Action Lawsuit... "Deceived by Battery Manufacturer"

24 People Including Cha Joo Sue File Damage Suit Against Mercedes-Benz Headquarters and Dealers
"After Advertising CATL Installation, Parasis Installed"

In August, 24 people, including the owner of the Mercedes-Benz EQE electric vehicle that caught fire in an underground parking lot of an apartment in Incheon, filed a class-action lawsuit against the headquarters and others.

On the 10th, Yonhap News reported that lawyer Ha Jong-seon (Law Office Naru), the legal representative for the Benz owners, held a briefing session related to the lawsuit at the Textile Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. At the briefing, lawyer Ha stated, "We have filed a complaint at the Seoul Central District Court seeking damages against seven sellers including the manufacturer Mercedes-Benz's German headquarters, the importer Benz Korea, Hansung Motor, and two leasing companies including Benz Financial Services Korea."

On the morning of August 8th, police, fire department, the National Forensic Service, Mercedes-Benz officials, and other related personnel conducted a second joint inspection of the electric vehicle that caught fire on August 1st in the underground parking lot of an apartment complex in Cheongna, at an industrial workshop in Seo-gu, Incheon.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The claimed amount is 10 million KRW per plaintiff, initially filed for a partial amount, with plans to expand the claim to the full amount after the Fair Trade Commission announces the results of its investigation into Benz's false advertising. The core issue of this lawsuit is that most of the Mercedes-Benz EQE electric vehicles are equipped with batteries from the Chinese company Farasis, ranked among the world's top 10 battery manufacturers, but Benz allegedly deceived the owners by claiming the batteries were from CATL, China's number one battery company.

Lawyer Ha argued that Christoph Starzinski, Vice President of Mercedes-Benz, made a false statement in a 2022 interview with a domestic media outlet, saying "CATL batteries are installed in the EQE," which constitutes false disclosure of an important fact in the electric vehicle purchase transaction. He added, "Due to this false advertisement, each plaintiff suffered damages amounting to 70 million KRW, the cost to replace the battery pack installed in the vehicle," and thus they are claiming damages and cancellation of the sales and lease contracts based on fraud and mistake.

On the morning of the 10th, at the Textile Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, lawyer Ha Jong-seon (Naru Law Office) is explaining about approximately 20 Mercedes-Benz EQE electric vehicle owners filing a joint lawsuit against Mercedes-Benz headquarters in Germany and Mercedes-Benz Korea.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Additionally, they claim that Mercedes-Benz headquarters knew about the defects in the Farasis batteries but concealed them, and therefore should also bear punitive damages. Despite the high energy density of Farasis batteries increasing the risk of thermal runaway, Benz failed to equip the vehicles with appropriate designs or devices to prevent this.

Lawyer Ha stated, "Mercedes-Benz either knew about these defects or at least became fully aware of them following the Incheon parking lot fire but did not conduct a recall to replace the battery packs, thereby concealing the defects," and argued that the company should be liable for punitive damages amounting to 350 million KRW per plaintiff, which is five times the cost of replacing each battery pack (70 million KRW).

The first hearing for this lawsuit is expected to take place as early as next spring. Lawyer Ha said, "Since it will take about six months, I think the hearing will be scheduled in the spring of next year."

The Mercedes-Benz EQE electric vehicle fire occurred on August 1 in the underground parking lot of an apartment in Cheongna International City, Incheon. At that time, 23 residents and others were hospitalized after inhaling smoke, 87 vehicles were burned, and 783 vehicles were scorched. Additionally, problems with the building's electricity and water pipes caused some households to experience power and water outages for about a week.

On the 20th of last month, the National Forensic Service released a detailed forensic report on the Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle fire, stating, "It is possible that the fire started from the battery pack under the vehicle," and "The external impact on the underside of the vehicle may have damaged the cells inside the battery pack, leading to 'insulation breakdown' (a phenomenon where the insulator loses its properties), which could have caused the ignition."