Justice Has Doubts About Retrofit Solutions For Diesel

2023 Author: Eric Donovan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 09:36

The auto industry wants to avoid driving bans with retrofit solutions for diesel. But the judiciary has doubts about such a solution.

In the dispute over possible driving bans for diesel cars in Stuttgart, the judiciary has indicated doubts about retrofitting older vehicles as an alternative. The responsible judge Wolfgang Kern said on Wednesday at the first hearing at the administrative court that the calculations of the state of Baden-Württemberg on the question of how quickly which diesel models could be improved by the car manufacturers and how far the pollutants could be reduced, were "of maximum optimism carried".

Meanwhile, preparations are underway in Berlin for a nationwide “Diesel Summit” at the beginning of August, which is supposed to discuss solutions. Possible driving bans are discussed particularly controversially in Stuttgart because this measure was already planned there for phases of high pollution. In the meantime, however, the state government is relying on retrofitting of the car companies. Experts assume that 50 percent of diesels, which so far only meet the Euro 5 emissions standard, would have to be upgraded to Euro 6 in order to achieve the effect of the planned driving bans. Another assumption: retrofitting can reduce pollutants by 50 percent.

Lawsuit of the DUH

The feasibility is based on information from the auto industry. In the end, however, the pollutants only reduced by 9 percent at the particularly polluted Neckartor, according to the court. The administrative court took action as a result of a complaint by the German Environmental Aid (DUH) against a new clean air plan. This should apply from January 1, 2018 in Stuttgart. For at least seven years, the EU limit values for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) have been exceeded in some cases by a factor of two. A decision is expected in the coming week.

The DUH sees diesel driving bans as an effective means of combating air pollution. From the country's point of view, however, one should wait and see whether the retrofitting of older diesels announced by the auto industry will have a similar effect on air pollution, said his representatives at the negotiation. This will be checked in 2018. If it is not enough, the driving bans come back into play.

The debate about diesel bans is also an issue in other cities such as Munich. In the Bavarian capital, Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) brought the measure into play. The state government wants to focus on alternative means such as effective retrofitting of cars here too.

Blue badge best solution

Both sides in Stuttgart agree that the introduction of a blue sticker with which older diesel cars could be locked out of environmental zones would be by far the best measure for air pollution control. However, the federal government would have to take action.

At the Berlin “Diesel Summit” on August 2, concrete steps to reduce pollutant emissions are to be determined with several affected federal states and the automotive industry. The Federal Ministry of Transport announced on Wednesday that manufacturers would be expected to provide information on which models in the Euro 5 and Euro 6 emission classes could be optimized with new software. The latest announcement by Daimler for improvements to more than three million cars shows that there is movement in the subject. "The aim is to avoid driving bans," emphasized a spokesman for the Federal Environment Ministry, which is co-host of the meeting.

The Prime Ministers of the “Autoländer” Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hessen, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia are invited to the “National Diesel Forum” - as well as Berlin and Hamburg as city-states that are severely affected by high nitrogen oxide (NOx) levels.

In addition, the heads of VW, Audi, Porsche, BMW, Daimler, Ford Germany and Opel, the Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) and the Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (VDIK) will take part. The German Association of Cities, IG Metall and the Federation of German Employers' Associations (BDA) are also invited. (dpa)