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DPA
Automobile traffic: hardware adaptations for diesel vehicles are coming – but who pays?
Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) met on Thursday in Berlin again with key leaders of the German car industry. The morning session will highlight the planned hardware upgrades on older diesel vehicles to avoid driving bans.
Equipment modernization, that is engine and exhaust system modifications, is part of the Coalition's new suite of measures to prevent new driving bans. However, manufacturers have so far refused to pay the full costs, as required by the government. Liability issues are also controversial. BMW completely rejects the modernization of the equipment.
Scheuer had demanded the movement of automakers before the meeting. The auto industry has a "huge backlog" to regain confidence and improve its image, he said Tuesday evening at an event organized by the VDA Automobile Industry Association. In many cities, pollutant limits are exceeded, mainly because of diesel exhaust gases.
The Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband has launched an appeal before the summit meeting on the responsibility of the automotive industry and called for improvements. "The Federal Minister of Transport, Andreas Scheuer, and the car manufacturers must finally address the topic of modernization of equipment," said the Board of Directors of the Association, Klaus Müller, of the German news agency in Berlin. "Equipment upgrades are the last option for diesel owners who can not afford a new car to avoid driving bans."
Create bases for renovations by the end of the year
Müller demanded that the legal basis for technical modernization be created by the end of the year. "The technical, financial and legal risks badociated with modernization should not be the responsibility of the diesel owners." Stripping must make it clear that polluters, as well as car manufacturers, must bear the costs and badume the guarantees.
Part of the government's proposal is that manufacturers give higher rebates to customers who pay for their old diesel and buy a cleaner car.
Müller also said: "Car manufacturers must issue a legally binding mobility guarantee so that consumers can be sure they can exchange their newly acquired car for another driving ban in a few years".
In many cities, pollutant limits are mostly exceeded by the exhaust gases of diesel engines. To make the air cleaner, there are already closed roads in Hamburg for used diesel. The courts have also ordered driving bans in Stuttgart, Berlin or Frankfurt, which could come into force in 2019.
Also in Cologne and Bonn, driving bans may soon be introduced. The Cologne Administrative Court is currently negotiating on Thursday (9.30 am) a legal appeal from Germany 's environmental aid. This finally requires tightening up the air purification program and respecting the EU limit values for nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
According to environmental aid, driving bans are inevitable. The lawsuit is also directed against Bonn, where the boundaries were also torn. However, the situation is not as serious as in the nearby cathedral city. Judgments on both cities again Thursday are likely.
Head of the Daimler Business Committee: not only let German builders pay
Michael Brecht, chairman of the Daimler Company Committee, also wants foreign manufacturers to bear the cost of upgrading diesel. "If you do something like that, then everyone has to participate," he said on Thursday during SWR's daily conversation. "If an Italian or French car rolls through the cities and has emissions well above those of the German car, it is impossible for us to speak only of the German manufacturers." If the state wants consumers to bear the costs of modernization, it must involve them.
Foreign manufacturers had not participated in the first "diesel package" after the 2017 diesel summit.
la / dpa / Reuters
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