Diesel cars were long seen as the obvious choice for those who wanted to buy an environmentally friendly car in Europe, but after Volkswagen’s emissions scandal in 2015, this changed quickly.
Now a court case in the EU court threatens to ban millions of older diesel cars, reports the German car owners’ organization ADAC.
Threatened by legal cases in the European Court of Justice
The legal case revolves around two diesel cars from Mercedes with emission class Euro 5, whose owners feel cheated because the cars have significantly higher emissions in reality than the manufacturer’s figures.
The regional court in Duisburg sent the case on to the European Court of Justice to investigate whether there may be a claim for damages.
Now have Athanasios RantosAdvocate General of the European Court of Justice, has come up with his opinion on the matter, which could have serious consequences for millions of diesel cars.
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Does not meet emission requirements in reality
On diesel cars with emission class Euro 5 and Euro 6, emissions were tested between 2011 and 2018 only in a laboratory.
However, according to the Advocate General’s interpretation, the cars’ emissions must meet the so-called NEDC requirements even under all conditions during real driving.
The case is expected to be decided in the European Court of Justice in 2025 – Photo: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP/TT
However, according to ADAC, it is impossible for a car to be prepared to meet the requirements under all conditions, for example at high speeds, in headwinds or on uphill slopes.
– Running a laboratory test on the road and comparing the measured emissions with the legal limit values is like the infamous comparison of apples with oranges, says the organization’s lawyer Klaus Heimgartner.
Cars may need to be “dismantled”
Should the European Court of Justice agree with Ratos on the issue, it could have dramatic consequences, as it means that the type approvals for Euro 5 and Euro 6 diesels are wrongly issued.
This could lead to all affected car models having to be tested in real traffic to verify that they comply with the limit values, which, according to ADAC, they will not do in most cases. It should also not be possible to retrofit equipment that makes the cars pass the limit values.
If the type approvals of the diesel cars concerned are declared invalid, it may mean that the cars have to be “decommissioned”, which means that they will no longer be approved for road traffic.
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Millions of diesel cars are at risk
It is not unusual for the European Court of Justice to follow the Advocate General’s line, which in this case could have devastating consequences for many owners of diesel cars.
ADAC estimates that as many as 8.2 million diesel cars are affected in Germany alone.
Even if such an outcome would mean that millions of diesel cars would have to be “decommissioned”, according to ADAC it is doubtful whether this is practically feasible.
A verdict in the current legal case is expected in the first half of 2025.
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