Stuttgart (dpa) – The south-western German city of Stuttgart – home to car firms Audi, Porsche and Mercedes-Benz – has announced that it will impose bans on certain diesel cars from January 1, 2019.
Deisel cars that conform to the Euro 4 emissions standards or worse will face bans in parts of the city centre, the Green-conservative coalition in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg – of which Stuttgart is the capital – announced on Wednesday.
While not revealing details of the plan, the government said the ban would be part of a wider package of measures to clean up the city’s air, which has surpassed EU pollution levels for some time now.
The Federal Administrative Court in the eastern city of Leipzig decided in February that German cities could impose diesel bans if they wanted to.
The northern port city of Hamburg was the first to impose a partial ban, but it has been widely criticized as ineffective as it covers only two streets and allows for many exceptions.
Baden-Wuerttemberg’s Green Premier Winfried Kretschmann has been under pressure since the Leipzig court decision to introduce a ban.