BERLIN, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- German automotive firm Daimler tried to secretly loan a "StreetScooter" electric vehicle from Deutsche Post through a fake company for test purposes at its Stuttgart headquarters in April, the newspaper Spiegel reported Monday.
The German postal service Deutsche Post AG recently attracted widespread media interest for unveiling the "StreetScooter" as an electric alternative to conventional delivery vans. Deutsche Post is offering the vehicle for sale as well as using it for its own purposes.
The development also appears to have drawn the attention of Mercedes-Benz owner and leading truck and van manufacturer Daimler which acquired one of the brand new vehicles under a fake company name.
When Deutsche Post sought to investigate the customer's identity, however, it discovered the fraud and managed to track the borrowed vehicle via GPS to Daimler's manufacturing center in Stuttgart.
Confronted with the claims, Daimler told Spiegel that it was not uncommon in the automotive industry to rent vehicles through third parties for test purposes. It remained unclear on Monday whether Deutsche Post intended to file charges in the case.
Daimler announced earlier in May that it would produce electric versions of its Vito and Sprinter vans for the courier service Hermes.
