German Government Mulling Joint-Fund With Auto Manufacturers To Retrofit Diesel Cars

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The government of Germany is now considering the creation of a new joint-fund with the country’s auto manufacturers as a means of funding the retrofit of diesel cars in the country so as to reduce emissions, the news firm Der Spiegel has reported.

diesel exhaust studyThe basic idea behind this is that regional or city-level diesel car bans in the country can possibly be avoided through such retrofits, and that it would be in the best interests of the country to help pay for these retrofits rather than put the costs all on the companies that sold the diesel cars in question.

Whether or not one agrees with that way of thinking is its own question, but that does seem to be the motive.

This news follows on a recent ruling by the top court in Germany that local authorities have the right to ban select types of vehicles from their streets in the name of reducing air pollution.

Reuters provides more:

“The German government may ask carmakers to contribute €5 billion ($6.13 billion) to the fund which would also include government payments, Der Spiegel reported, without being more specific.

“A spokeswoman for Germany’s VDA auto industry lobby, representing major carmakers Volkswagen, Daimler, and BMW, said it had no knowledge of such a government proposal. Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer declined to comment on the report. In an emailed statement he said one of the items on the agenda at the cabinet retreat is to ‘work hard with goal of making air quality in our cities even better’.

“Der Spiegel said the ‘comprehensive’ exhaust refit plan would affect a large part of the 15 million diesel cars in Germany, of which only 2.7 million are equipped with the latest Euro-6 emissions technology.”

If the German magazine is to be believed, then cities with particularly high levels of air pollution may end up being fitted with systems relying upon AdBlue injection tech. This is a relatively effective but easily disabled system for lowering diesel engine emissions, while at the same time lowering performance (hence the common clandestine disabling of such systems in some parts of the European Union).

Following that line of thought, this article is worth a read: Volkswagen Diesel Cars Use Up To 14% More Fuel After Software “Fix,” With NOx Emissions Still 400% Higher Than Lab Figures, Study Shows.


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James Ayre

James Ayre's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy.

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