In a report commissioned by a US law firm, automotive software expert Felix Domke documented “eight previously unknown defeat devices in a Mercedes-Benz E-Class with Euro 6 diesel,” Environmental Action Germany (DUH) said on Thursday.

In DUH’s view, “these clearly illegal so-called ‘defeat devices’ reduce the effective exhaust gas purification by the SCR catalytic converter installed.”

That would mean nitrogen oxide emissions on the road would be significantly higher than the legal limits, the group said.

A spokesperson for Daimler said that the “parameterizations described” were already known, however. “From our point of view, in the interaction and overall context of the highly complex emission control system, these are not to be assessed as impermissible defeat devices,” he said.

Such defeat devices were found at Volkswagen in 2015, unleashing the scandal known as Dieselgate and prompting an apology from VW and lawsuits that cost the company tens of billions of dollars.

DUH plans to present its report at a press conference on Friday.

Domke is a software expert for engine control systems and has already worked in that capacity for the German Federal Motor Transport Authority, DUH said.

“The defeat devices found activate in driving situations that are common on the road,” Domke said, according to the statement. “Even in normal driving situations, at least one defeat device almost always actively prevents the improvement of emissions – even if it is not at all necessary physically or for engine protection.”

DUH national director Juergen Resch accused Daimler and its brand Mercedes-Benz of “profit maximization at the expense of the environment and the health of city dwellers.”