Hamburg was first in May. Stuttgart, home of Mercedes and Porsche, was second in July.
A diesel ban in Frankfurt came third.
Only older cars that do not meet emission standards are banned, but diesel is now toxic. No one wants to buy diesel.
Merkel Can No Longer Protect Car Makers
Adding to the woes, Merkel has lost control. She is no longer able to protect German industry.
The European Parliament just voted to cut CO2 emissions by 40%. The European ministers voted for a 35% reduction. The latter is binding.
Car sales dropped sharply in September.
Eurointelligence on Autos and German Industry
The German government – backed by its usual eastern European allies – fought in vain to head off the tougher standards.
Germany’s environment minister Svenja Schulze deliberately – and astonishingly – weakened her own negotiating position by making clear that her personal preference would have been for tougher targets than those she was officially defending as her government’s position.
An administrative court in Berlin decided yesterday that the city of Berlin needs to ban diesel cars – compliant with Euro norms five and earlier – in important areas of the city, including Friedrichstrasse and Leipziger Strasse. There is no ban for petrol cars as the emissions in question are nitrogen oxide. The ban will have to be implemented by July 2019 at the latest. The plaintiff was a German environmental NGO, which had sued for a city-wide ban of diesel.
Car Sales Plunge
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