According to a ruling by the EU court, the EU Commission has unjustifiably relaxed the limits of the Euro 6 standard when introducing new car emissions tests. This was decided by the Luxembourg judges following an action brought by the cities of Paris, Brussels and Madrid. These cities are now allowed to challenge the limits and, if in doubt, impose driving bans on new diesel cars that have been officially registered.
In the automotive industry, uncertainty about future requirements for cars with gasoline and diesel engines prevails. The manufacturers were satisfied with the now rejected regulation. They had achieved that cars in real traffic may emit more NOx than on the test bench.
To this end, the EU Commission had set conversion factors. Instead of the 80 milligrams of nitrogen dioxide per kilometer prescribed in the Euro 6 regulation, the diesel cars are allowed to emit 168 milligrams and then 120 milligrams for a transitional period. Previously, there had only been test bench measurements whose values had been manipulated by many automakers.
The court said that the Commission's 2016 regulatory proposal went beyond the powers of the EU executive. In addition, human rights and other EU laws are violated.
However, nothing will change for at least 14 months to ensure legal certainty. So you want to make sure that there are still valid limits.
More soon on SPIEGEL ONLINE.