22/02/2018

German court to rule on diesel fate

Major German cities will soon discover whether they are able to ban heavily polluting diesel cars.

The 2015 Volkswagen diesel-cheat discovery has led to a global backlash against diesel cars and the subsequent restrictions and possible ban on them could be a huge blow for manufacturers.

Local courts in Stuttgart and Dusseldorf have ordered a ban on diesel cars that do not conform to the latest standards after an environmental group sued city authorities over poor air quality.

Appeals have been lodged by those states affected by the ban but environmental group DUH is also planning to seek bans in other German cities.

As proceedings got underway in Leipzig on Thursday, lawyers discussed whether the government would have to introduce a new way of labelling cars to enable authorities to enforce any bans.

Meanwhile, authorities in Paris, Madrid, Mexico City and Athens have said they plan to ban diesel vehicles from city centres by 2025, while the mayor of Copenhagen wants to ban new diesel cars from entering the city as soon as next year.

France and Britain will ban new petrol and diesel cars by 2040 in a shift to electric vehicles.