In a key ruling that is likely to impact the Germany automobile industry, the federal administrative court, the highest judicial authority of the country, has delayed judgement till the 27th of February on the issue of banning diesel-powered cars in major cities of Germany.
Prior to the current ruling, the certain German states had filed a petition in the federal court to revoke the ban imposed by the regional courts of Dusseldorf and Stuttgart citing poor air quality as one of the reasons. The judgement in favor of the ban by local courts is likely to adversely impact the resale prices of nearly 15 million cars in Germany and make manufacturers pay for expensive alterations.
Diesel-powered cars have drawn worldwide criticism since Volkswagen had confessed to have cheated in the diesel exhaust tests carried out in the U.S. in 2015. According to The Guardian, last year, nearly 70 cities in Germany witnessed an annual rise in NO2 emissions surpassing emission limits set by the EU, with diesel engine cars accounting for nearly 72.5% of the overall pollution levels. Earlier this year, Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), a German based environmental group, had filed a litigation against nine city authorities of the country for not enforcing the ban on diesel vehicles.
For the record, the government of Germany has been severely criticized due to its close association with the country’s automotive industry. Its decision to prevent the enforcement of the ban on the diesel cars is apparently based on the fear that the ban can trigger anger in drivers leading to traffic disruption in the cities. However, the authorities in Paris, Athens, Madrid, and Mexico City have decided to prohibit diesel cars from operating across city centers by 2025.
The Mayor of Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, has also reportedly planned to ban diesel vehicles from entering the capital next year. Reliable sources have claimed that UK and France are also likely to ban new petrol & diesel cars by 2040.
