Environmental News: Car Company Daimler To Provide Exhaust Upgrades For Older Mercedes-Benz Owners Due To Emissions Concerns

Mercedes-Benz customers in Germany will be allowed to apply for a subsidy to upgrade the exhaust filter if they own an older vehicle, Daimler said last week. The $3,350 subsidy for qualifying customers will attempt to reduce pollution coming from these older cars in response to a recent German court ruling.

A top German court in 2018 said that cities are allowed to ban heavily polluting diesel vehicles in urban areas, which has forced automakers like Daimer to pay for modifications. An estimated 12 million vehicles in Germany have been affected by the ruling.

Diesel cars face a difficult future in Europe, as 24 European cities are going to ban diesel vehicles over the next decade. Paris, Madrid and Hamburg are already some of the major metropolitan areas which have put limits on diesel automobiles.

Some EU countries, such as Denmark, have called for an EU-wide ban on all petrol and diesel cars in the EU by 2040 in order to curb emissions.

Diesel vehicles are also facing competition in Europe from electric vehicle brands such as Tesla. In Norway, for example, the Tesla Model 3 was the top-selling car in September of this year.

Diesel cars have traditionally been more popular in Europe due to lax regulations compared to the United States. In the U.S., diesel cars have had to meet the same emissions standards as gas vehicles, which is not easy.