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The new restrictions for old diesel engines are related to the possible decommissioning of Euro-5 and Euro-6 diesel engines. Currently, there will still be 2024 million Euro 4,3 diesel engines registered in Germany in 5.
In an ongoing review at the European Court of Justice, the EU Commission has changed its legal opinion on the enforcement of pollutant limits so that the limits must now be met in every driving situation, including fully loaded.
Previously, emissions were measured only under standardized, comparable testing conditions. This change will mean that all Euro 5 and possibly Euro 6 regulations will be called into question.
This means that 8,2 million combustion engine drivers in Germany are at risk of having their vehicles scrapped this year. This was stated by the Federal Minister of Transport, Volker Wissing, in a letter to the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
Prehistory
Until 2017, new car tests were based on the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC), which measured in laboratory conditions whether pollutant emissions met the limit values.
However, the system was not considered realistic under real conditions and was replaced by a new procedure (RDE). However, older Euro 5 or Euro 6 diesels are still NEDC registered and on the road.
These permits are now being challenged in a court case in Germany that has been referred to the European Court of Justice. According to the Ministry of Transport, the Prosecutor General also stated that cars must meet the values even outside of laboratory conditions.
A spokeswoman for ADAC wrote to Tagesschau about the need to protect owners of existing cars and said discussions about a total ban were "inappropriate". The old diesel cars were properly registered at the time of commissioning. "According to ADAC lawyers, changes in the measurement procedure at the time of approval of a vehicle type cannot later be applied retroactively."
A complete ban on old diesels will have significant implications for the entire European Union. One of the solutions may be to clarify the normative acts, which will reflect the relevant legal change between the Commission and the member states.
At the beginning of the year, it also became known that the ban on diesel fuel in the EU may be revised, and the EU authorities will discuss relaxing the Euro-7 norms.
