Shares in Mercedes-owner Daimler slide after news of emissions investigation

Shares of Daimler slid more than 5.5%, hit by news that the US Department of Justice had asked the car maker to investigate its emissions certification process for vehicles, including its Mercedes brand.

The investigation comes six months after the US Environmental Protection Agency said it would review diesel vehicles following an admission from Volkswagen that it installed software in cars allowing them to emit up to 40 times legally permissible level of pollution.

Daimler chief financial officer Bodo Uebber declined to elaborate on what prompted the investigation when the company published earnings for the first three months of the year yesterday.