He said this meant the vehicles produced "far higher amounts of NOx than was permitted" and that Mercedes-Benz has no tenable defence to the lawsuit. However, lawyers representing Mercedes-Benz denied its vehicles contained defeat devices, saying there was no reduction in the effectiveness of their emissions control systems. Helen Davies said in written arguments that the lawsuit heavily relies on separate litigation in Britain brought against Volkswagen, which last year agreed to pay 193 million pounds ($235 million) to settle 91,000 claims without any admission of liability. But, she added, there were "crucial differences" with the case against Mercedes-Benz, as its vehicles have not used any software that recognises when it is being tested for emissions.