Delhi court orders Mercedes to refund Rs 1.8 crore to buyer for faulty electric car

The Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed Mercedes Benz to refund Rs 1.8 crore to a buyer after finding the company guilty of deficiency in service and unfair trade practice. The order was passed on September 12 by a bench comprising Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal, president of the commission, and member Pinki, a TOI report stated.

Manufacturing defect cited

The bench noted that within one year of purchase on November 2, 2022, the car had been sent for repairs several times.
"This establishes that the fault in the vehicle in question arose due to a manufacturing defect," said the bench.

Refund and compensation

The refund amount includes Rs 5 lakh awarded for the mental agony caused to the complainant, Gurvinder Khurana, who bought the Mercedes-Benz EQS580 electric car in his company’s name. The bench said the manufacturer was duty-bound to replace the defective vehicle but failed to do so. It also recorded that the model had been discontinued and was no longer available in the market.

"In these circumstances, we are left with no other alternative but to direct a refund of the entire purchase price of the said vehicle to the complainant," the bench said.

Complaints raised

Khurana, represented by advocates Puja Anand and KB Hina, alleged that problems began within seven months of purchase. Reported issues included sudden radar sensor failure, malfunctioning of the dirt sensor, noise from the AC blower, excessive sound from the seat cooling blower, reduced cooling in the driver’s seat, a whistle-like noise above 60 kmph, the front left window bouncing back while closing, improper working of the 360 camera, and non-functioning of the Mercedes ME Service App.

Commission’s findings

The commission noted that the car had been taken for repairs five times, the last on October 5, 2023. It held that such persistent defects could reasonably be linked to faults existing at the time of manufacture. Minor defects, it observed, can be diagnosed and corrected easily and would not require repeated workshop visits.