Stuttgart Makes It Official, Bans Euro 4 Diesels Starting April 1st

Last summer, news broke about the city of Stuttgart and its plans to ban older diesel vehicles starting this year. Now, the German city, which is home to Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, has made it official.

The ban will be enforced starting April 1st and will affect not just visitors but also current residents of the city who own an Euro 4 diesel car or older – unless they are granted an exception, as reported by Autonews Europe.

“From 2019 there will be a driving restriction in the green environmental zone for older diesel Euro 4 and below, with a transitional arrangement for local residents and reasonable exceptions for tradesmen and delivery services,” stated Andreas Schwarz, the head of the Green parliamentary group in Baden-Wurttemberg.

Meanwhile, Environment Minister Svenja Schulze was quoted by DW as saying: “The longer you want for older diesels to be retrofitted with hardware, the more likely we are to see driving bans. Now diesel owners have to pay for the massive mistakes of the car industry.”

Is my Euro 5 diesel safe?

Vehicles with engines confirming to Euro 5 emissions standards are safe, for now. However, a decision to whether they too should be banned or not will reportedly be made in the coming months.

Other major German cities that allowed diesel bans to be enforced include Frankfurt, Hamburg and Berlin. Hamburg’s restrictions have however been criticized, as they only cover two streets and allow for many exceptions.