- A consumer association in Germany is suing the country’s transport authority over full-size US trucks.
- The DUH is demanding the KBA release information on permits issued for pickups like Ram’s 1500.
- Big trucks don’t meet EU type approval regulations and must be individually approved by the KBA.
President Donald Trump recently complained that Europe didn’t buy enough American cars. And now a German consumer association is on a mission to make it even harder for certain US vehicles to find their way onto their country’s roads.
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The Environmental Action Germany (DUH), a non-profit environmental and consumer protection association, thinks full-size American trucks are too big, too dirty and too dangerous, and has launched a lawsuit against Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) with the aim of forcing it to release information about trucks operating in the nation.
Why American Pickups Are Under Fire
Big (to European sensibilities) trucks like the Ford F-Series, various Ram models and similar pickups from GM do not meet EU type approval regulations governing safety and emissions, unlike smaller American vehicles such as the Ford Mustang and Cadillac Lyriq.
They emit up to nine times more CO2 particles than regular Euro-market cars and often don’t come equipped with safety systems that are mandatory in the region, DUH says. And at up to 6.8 m (266 inches) long and 2.7 m (106 inches) wide, they’re a tight fit on some European roads and often don’t fit at all in European parking bays.
Each example imported to Europe must be individually approved and the DUH is concerned that 80 percent of the 4,025 registrations in the 27 EU countries during 2023 were made in Germany. Almost 3,000 of the trucks concerned were Rams, even though the Stellantis pickups only ranked third behind the Chevy Silverado and Ford F-Series in 2023’s US new-vehicle sales table.
The DUH had previously asked the KBA to provide information about individual approval permits for the XXL trucks, but as it refused to comply the greenies have escalated matters and taken the transport agency to court to force it to release the requested data, citing the Environmental Information Act.
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“Immense climate damage and an increased risk of serious traffic accidents are accepted” by allowing the trucks to skip type approval regs, Jürgen Resch, Federal Managing Director of the DUH, warns.
Resch and the DUH are calling for the German government to apply hefty taxes and parking restrictions to limit the appeal of the trucks and reduce the number getting into the country.
