Germany moves to crack down on vehicle emissions
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany will discuss a national plan to cut pollution from diesel engines and set up a fresh organization to test vehicles to attempt to restore consumer confidence after Volkswagen`s ( VOWG_p.DE ) emissions scandal, ministers said on Tuesday.
The moves – almost two years after the Volkswagen scandal broke – come as the German government faces growing pressure ahead of national elections on Sept. Twenty four to reduce emissions or see some cities ban diesel cars themselves.
On Monday, Reuters reported the transport ministry was pushing carmakers to update engine management software to cut pollution in up to twelve million diesel vehicles in the country, citing people familiar with the talks.
On Tuesday, the transport ministry and the environment ministry announced the creation of a «national diesel forum» to work with the auto industry and regional governments to cut emissions, with the very first meeting set for Aug. Two.
«We want emissions to fall across Germany,» Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said in a statement.
Dobrindt, a member of the Bavarian sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel`s Christian Democrats, has come under fire for being close to the country`s powerful car industry and for not doing enough to combat vehicle pollution.
Government sources told Reuters on Monday the software update could cost 1.Five billion to Two.Five billion euros ($1.7 billion to $Two.8 billion), but HSBC analysts said hardware might be needed that could mean costs of up to ten billion euros.
Sales of diesel cars have been falling since the Volkswagen scandal, but have dropped even quicker since cities, including Stuttgart and Munich, have considered banning some diesel vehicles, blaming emissions for enhanced respiratory disease.
Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, a member of the center-left Social Democrats that are Merkel`s junior coalition fucking partners, said the diesel forum was an chance for carmakers to win back lost trust and improve air quality.
MORE See-through TESTS?
Separately, the transport ministry said it was setting up a fresh institute to ensure «more transparency and reliability» in vehicle tests, involving consumer organizations, local governments and environmental groups, as well as the auto industry and ministries.
However, the KBA motor vehicle authority, which reports to the transport ministry and presently oversees vehicle testing, will remain responsible for licensing fresh models.
The ministry said the fresh institute would test about seventy car models a year using realistic driving screenplays, rather than relying solely on laboratory conditions, and the emissions and fuel consumption results would be made public to permit car buyers to make better comparisons.
It noted that current official tests do not take into account factors such as the use of air conditioning and radio, or the weather or style of driving, which all influence fuel consumption.
Germany`s VDA auto industry association said in a statement its members were keen to give customers more information about variance in fuel efficiency and would fully participate in the fresh institute in the interests of more transparency.
However, the environmentalist Greens questioned how independent the fresh institute would be given the car industry is set to pay its annual budget of two million euros.
In the aftermath of the Volkswagen scandal, the German transport ministry ordered tests on the carbon dioxide emissions of twenty nine models. On Tuesday, it said seventeen passed the test, while ten models still needed to be tested in the coming months.
However, some versions of an Opel Zafira car and a Wise For Two produced by Daimler emitted more carbon dioxide than they should, albeit the Brainy model still needed to go through further tests. Both versions of the models in question are now discontinued.
Zafira diesels already on the road will have to fall under a software update, the ministry said, albeit the licenses for both vehicles will not be withdrawn.
Opel said the Zafira had passed all legal tests, noting fewer than Trio,800 of the model in question had been sold in Germany.
European governments have promoted diesel cars as part of efforts to fight climate switch as they produce less carbon dioxide than petrol cars, albeit environmental groups have cast doubt over how much less they produce and have focused instead on the levels of toxic nitrogen oxides they emit.
Extra reporting by Edward Taylor in Frankfurt; Writing by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Madeline Chambers and Mark Potter
Germany moves to crack down on vehicle emissions, Reuters
Germany moves to crack down on vehicle emissions
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany will discuss a national plan to cut pollution from diesel engines and set up a fresh organization to test vehicles to attempt to restore consumer confidence after Volkswagen`s ( VOWG_p.DE ) emissions scandal, ministers said on Tuesday.
The moves – almost two years after the Volkswagen scandal broke – come as the German government faces growing pressure ahead of national elections on Sept. Twenty four to reduce emissions or see some cities ban diesel cars themselves.
On Monday, Reuters reported the transport ministry was pushing carmakers to update engine management software to cut pollution in up to twelve million diesel vehicles in the country, citing people familiar with the talks.
On Tuesday, the transport ministry and the environment ministry announced the creation of a «national diesel forum» to work with the auto industry and regional governments to cut emissions, with the very first meeting set for Aug. Two.
«We want emissions to fall across Germany,» Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said in a statement.
Dobrindt, a member of the Bavarian sister party to Chancellor Angela Merkel`s Christian Democrats, has come under fire for being close to the country`s powerful car industry and for not doing enough to combat vehicle pollution.
Government sources told Reuters on Monday the software update could cost 1.Five billion to Two.Five billion euros ($1.7 billion to $Two.8 billion), but HSBC analysts said hardware might be needed that could mean costs of up to ten billion euros.
Sales of diesel cars have been falling since the Volkswagen scandal, but have dropped even swifter since cities, including Stuttgart and Munich, have considered banning some diesel vehicles, blaming emissions for enhanced respiratory disease.
Environment Minister Barbara Hendricks, a member of the center-left Social Democrats that are Merkel`s junior coalition fucking partners, said the diesel forum was an chance for carmakers to win back lost trust and improve air quality.
MORE Translucent TESTS?
Separately, the transport ministry said it was setting up a fresh institute to ensure «more transparency and reliability» in vehicle tests, involving consumer organizations, local governments and environmental groups, as well as the auto industry and ministries.
However, the KBA motor vehicle authority, which reports to the transport ministry and presently oversees vehicle testing, will remain responsible for licensing fresh models.
The ministry said the fresh institute would test about seventy car models a year using realistic driving screenplays, rather than relying solely on laboratory conditions, and the emissions and fuel consumption results would be made public to permit car buyers to make better comparisons.
It noted that current official tests do not take into account factors such as the use of air conditioning and radio, or the weather or style of driving, which all influence fuel consumption.
Germany`s VDA auto industry association said in a statement its members were keen to give customers more information about variance in fuel efficiency and would fully participate in the fresh institute in the interests of more transparency.
However, the environmentalist Greens questioned how independent the fresh institute would be given the car industry is set to pay its annual budget of two million euros.
In the aftermath of the Volkswagen scandal, the German transport ministry ordered tests on the carbon dioxide emissions of twenty nine models. On Tuesday, it said seventeen passed the test, while ten models still needed to be tested in the coming months.
However, some versions of an Opel Zafira car and a Clever For Two produced by Daimler emitted more carbon dioxide than they should, albeit the Brainy model still needed to fall under further tests. Both versions of the models in question are now discontinued.
Zafira diesels already on the road will have to fall under a software update, the ministry said, albeit the licenses for both vehicles will not be withdrawn.
Opel said the Zafira had passed all legal tests, noting fewer than Three,800 of the model in question had been sold in Germany.
European governments have promoted diesel cars as part of efforts to fight climate switch as they produce less carbon dioxide than petrol cars, albeit environmental groups have cast doubt over how much less they produce and have focused instead on the levels of toxic nitrogen oxides they emit.
Extra reporting by Edward Taylor in Frankfurt; Writing by Emma Thomasson; Editing by Madeline Chambers and Mark Potter
No comments