DPA
“2019 must be the year of confidence retrofitting”: Federal Transport Minister Scheuer
In view of approaching diesel driving bans in German cities in the new year calls Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer more efforts from the car manufacturers. “2019 not only the discussion about the hardware retrofits must lead to the result, but it must also be the year of confidence retrofitting for German manufacturers,” said the CSU politician of the German Press Agency. Car makers should self-critically think about what they could do better. “And the German manufacturers have a damn lot to make up for.” They would have to regain trust and image with their customers. Scheuer also took the municipalities to account.
Courts have ordered driving bans for several major cities because pollutant limits are not met. The main cause is diesel exhaust.
In Stuttgart, diesel vehicles with the emission standard Euro 4 or worse from January 1, 2019 are banned from the entire city, cars with local registration from April 1 to. For Berlin, the Administrative Court has ruled that from summer 2019 on at least eleven sections of heavily used roads for diesel with the norms up to Euro 5 are to be blocked. For food, a court ordered from July 1 to a no-traffic zone, which includes the first time a busy highway. Judgments on closures in Frankfurt, for example, are not yet final.
“We are against driving bans and offer subsidies, assistance and support for the affected communities,” said Scheuer. “This topic is existential for the future viability of urban mobility, because so much pressure has come from this discussion.”
“I am angry”
He expects the municipalities to implement the measures in 2019 and procure new digital systems. “We have given them more than € 480 million in support grants, and the systems for better mobility and clean air will now have to fly.”
The automakers had promised the conversion of millions of diesel cars with new exhaust software. By the end of the year actually 5.3 million cars to be improved for the fight against driving bans – according to data from mid-December but so far only 3.75 million vehicles have been converted, as the Ministry of Transport had communicated.
“I’m upset that you promised something that you did not keep,” said Scheuer. “In politics, one would say: broken promises, that does not lead to a gain in confidence.” His ministry started setting deadlines soon enough.
Scheuer calls for higher exchange premiums from manufacturers
“Manufacturers are lagging behind with approvable applications and implementation,” says Scheuer. “Some of their applications still require technical documentation, and they now have to comply with the pledges for the total of 6.3 million vehicles as quickly as possible, otherwise they lose their confidence again.” The industry association VDA had referred to considerable effort.
The government and the automotive industry are relying on software updates as a key tool to reduce emissions in cities relatively quickly. A package of measures also includes hardware retrofits for passenger cars. However, various preparatory work is still needed until they are implemented. This can take months. There had been a long struggle for financing the conversions on the engine. BMW is still against the retrofits.
The package of measures for better air also includes higher purchasing incentives from manufacturers. They want to achieve with so-called exchange premiums that customers give their old diesel for a new one in payment. In politics and the industry there are big doubts as to whether these bonuses really work.
Scheuer indirectly called on manufacturers to increase their previous premiums. He affirmed that his first priority was to get dirty diesel off the road and replace it with cleaner cars. It depends on “good conversion premiums”. “That’s why I expect the manufacturers, whether domestic or foreign manufacturers, to bring about the modernization of the fleets and to really take care of the customers and keep them mobile, but with a modern fleet.”
cr / dpa