Mercedes-Benz says U.S. ended diesel probe without filing charges

Mercedes-Benz Group said the U.S. Department of Justice has ended a probe related to exhaust emissions and won’t file charges against the German carmaker.

“We can confirm that the (Justice Department) has closed its investigation and will not bring charges against Mercedes-Benz,” the Stuttgart-based company said Saturday in an emailed statement.

The decision is “another important step towards legal certainty in connection with various diesel proceedings,” said Renata Jungo Bruengger, a member of the Mercedes-Benz management board. Justice Department officials didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment outside business hours on Saturday.

The company’s shares dropped the most in more than three months in April 2016 when it announced that the Justice Department had asked it to review its certification and admissions process related to exhaust emissions in the U.S.

It said it was cooperating fully with authorities and that a U.S. class-action lawsuit alleging some of its cars violated emissions standards, which prompted the Justice Department request, was “baseless.”