Germany can jail officials for failing to enforce inner-city bans on polluting vehicles, but only under specific
legislation that respects proportionality, the European Court of Justice ruled Thursday.
German prosecutors said Monday they had charged former Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn, and four
other managers, over the group's "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal.
Daimler confirmed Sunday it was facing a regulatory probe after a report said German authorities have uncovered a previously unknown type of pollution trickery software allegedly installed by the car giant in some of its vehicles.
Lawmakers in Germany moved Friday to make bans on older diesel vehicles in city centres less likely, angering environmentalists by backing off strict EU-wide pollution thresholds.
Mercedes-Benz parent company
Daimler could be set for a massive fine in Germany over diesel trickery, as
prosecutors confirmed Wednesday they had opened a probe similar to one that
cost Volkswagen one billion euros
German prosecutors on Monday said they have launched new legal proceedings over Porsche's role in the diesel emissions cheating scandal that erupted in 2015, which could leave the luxury carmaker facing a large fine.
Hundreds of people demonstrated Saturday in Stuttgart, the bastion of Germany's car industry, against a recent driving ban on older diesels, wearing yellow vests to match protesters in France whose movement began as a reaction to proposed fuel hikes.
German car giant Volkswagen said Friday it sold a record number of vehicles in 2018 even as it felt the sting from US-China trade tensions and problems with European emissions tests in the final months of the year.
As court disputes and policy debates about diesel pollution continue, the federal government has called on German carmakers to lift their standards to improve their image and win back public confidence.
A battle of words erupted between German Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer and EU Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska Thursday, after Brussels cancelled a planned ministerial meeting on diesel when Scheuer said he wouldn't attend.
Efforts by courts to impose diesel driving bans are "self-destructive" and put German prosperity at risk, the transport minister warned Friday, as tempers flared in the battle against urban air pollution.
The German government will ease air pollution law so as to spare cities that only slightly exceed limits on harmful nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from diesel vehicle bans, ministers agreed Thursday, sparking sharp criticism by environmentalists.
A German court released Tuesday former Audi chief executive Rupert Stadler after months in custody but he remains under suspicion in connection with parent group Volkswagen's role in
the "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal.
Hamburg, Berlin, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, and now Mainz. On Wednesday October 24th, the Administrative Court in the Rhineland-Palatinate state capital will rule on a possible driving ban on older diesel cars. The case comes amidst a heated political debate on banning diesel cars across Germany.
Almost two-thirds of survey respondents think Chancellor Merkel is not doing enough for diesel drivers (65 per cent), with almost three quarters (72 per cent) saying they had zero confidence in the Chancellor’s ability to prevent the driving bans coming into effect.
Diesel drivers in Berlin faced the prospect of bans from major arterial roads as a court Tuesday ordered the German capital must follow in the footsteps of Hamburg, Frankfurt and Stuttgart with exclusion zones.
German car giant Volkswagen said Tuesday it was removing Rupert Stadler, the chief executive of subsidiary Audi who has been jailed in an emissions fraud probe since June, from his post and the parent group's board.
Close to 200,000 owners of older diesel cars will be impacted by a ban on diesel engines in the city centre of Stuttgart that was announced on Wednesday.
Audi chief executive Rupert
Stadler was arrested on Monday in connection with parent company Volkswagen's "dieselgate" emissions cheating scandal, with prosecutors saying they feared he might try to destroy evidence.
Hamburg will on Thursday become the first German city to ban older diesel vehicles from some highly polluted
stretches of road, as public confidence in the once-loved technology goes up in smoke.
The German government on Monday gave Mercedes manufacturer Daimler two weeks to come up with a full explanation after authorities said some of its diesel vehicles were equipped with illegal pollution cheating devices.
Authorities in Hamburg said
on Wednesday they would ban some diesel vehicles from two major arteries to improve air quality, making the German port city the first to take the long-feared step.
German authorities said on Friday they had ordered 19,000 Porsche SUVs recalled over emissions cheating, saying a total of 60,000 manipulated vehicles had been identified worldwide.
The city of Hamburg this week put up signs on its streets warning motorists of diesel restricted zones - an indication to residents that they are taking the diesel driving bans seriously.
