German environmentalists, car dealers and politicians up the pressure ahead of diesel summit

Record ID: 905222

  • Title: German environmentalists, car dealers and politicians up the pressure ahead of diesel summit
  • Date: 1st August 2017
  • Summary: NETTETAL, GERMANY (AUGUST 1, 2017) (REUTERS) ENTRANCE TO TENDYCK CAR DEALERSHIP VARIOUS OF MECHANIC EXAMINING EXHAUST SYSTEM MANAGER OF CAR DEALERSHIP, RICHARD TENDYCK, WALKING PAST (SOUNDBITE) (German) MANAGER OF CAR DEALERSHIP, RICHARD TENDYCK, SAYING: "We are in contact with customers who want to buy a new car every day. The big concern they all have is, should it be petrol or diesel, electric or hybrid. The biggest problem is uncertainty. The summit must make clear what can be done in what timeframe. That's the main thing we as a business are expecting from this summit." VARIOUS OF CARS FOR SALE ON TARMAC (SOUNDBITE) (German) MANAGER OF CAR DEALERSHIP, RICHARD TENDYCK, SAYING: "There is a reluctance to buy diesel vehicles, it can't be denied. People buying new diesels, meaning Euro 6, will continue to buy diesels in large numbers. But when it comes to the typical second-hand car, Euro 5 or 4, which had been sold normally until now, there we see a reluctance to buy." BERLIN, GERMANY (AUGUST 1, 2017) (REUTERS) TELEVISION TOWER BEHIND HIGH-RISE BUILDING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION GERMANY, JUERGEN RESCH, WALKING THROUGH CENTRAL BERLIN (SOUNDBITE) (German) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION GERMANY, JUERGEN RESCH, SAYING: "We must now act decisively and really implement measures that make vehicles clean, and that means hardware upgrades as a first step. Nine million diesel vehicles must have their faulty exhaust systems removed and they must be replaced with catalytic exhaust converters which use urea (to help filter nitrogen oxides) and work properly. Only this measure will improve air quality in German cities to the point that limits are no longer exceeded and we no longer have 10,000 deaths per year." LORRY DRIVING PAST (SOUNDBITE) (German) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION GERMANY, JUERGEN RESCH, SAYING: "What use is a software update if the diesel car owners notice after the update that nothing changes about their vehicles and so they are not allowed to drive in cities anymore? Then people will feel like they have been deceived twice: once from the car manufacturer that sold them a car with dirty, useless emission control technology, and a second time by politicians who bring in a placebo solution." VEHICLES AND PASSERS-BY (SOUNDBITE) (German) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION GERMANY, JUERGEN RESCH, SAYING: "In the past year the auto industry made 36 billion dollars before tax, including through deceitful practices. And now they dare to demand taxpayer money to pay for retrofitting vehicles. We believe that not a single cent of taxpayer money should go towards upgrading vehicles or towards making new combustion engines. On the contrary!" STUTTGART, GERMANY (RECENT - JULY 28, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF VEHICLES DRIVING ALONG STREET VARIOUS OF MEASURING STATION DUESSELDORF, GERMANY (AUGUST 1, 2017) (REUTERS) STATE PREMIER OF NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA ARMIN LASCHET ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (German) STATE PREMIER OF NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA, ARMIN LASCHET, SAYING: "Tomorrow the summit must make a substantial contribution towards reducing nitrogen oxide levels. It's not a joke: the next court judgements are looming and if we do not deliver by then - as politicians, as an economy, as consumers, as a society - the courts will issue orders. And so everybody must be aware tomorrow that it's not a question of paying lip service, it's not about the tenth, eleventh or twelfth summit - rather we need concrete agreements which in half or three quarters of a year's time must be in evidence at every measuring station. That must be the aim of the summit." LASCHET TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) STATE PREMIER OF NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA, ARMIN LASCHET, SAYING: "They need a large-scale incentive system to encourage conversion so that the levels drop. Only when we have achieved this will we be able to prevent driving bans. If in a year's time the NOx (nitrogen oxide) levels are as high as they are today, many cities will be in a difficult situation. And I think - at least I hope - that everybody is aware that this is what's at stake tomorrow." VARIOUS OF ROAD SEEN THROUGH WINDOW
  • Embargoed: 15th August 2017 15:16
  • Keywords: diesel summit emissions German carmakers
  • Location: NETTETAL, BERLIN, STUTTGART & DUESSELDORF, GERMANY
  • City: NETTETAL, BERLIN, STUTTGART & DUESSELDORF, GERMANY
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Economic Events
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016SBQUML
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: German lawmakers were under pressure from conflicting groups on Tuesday (August 1), as they prepared for a national summit to discuss pollution from diesel vehicles - wanting to appear tough ahead of federal elections next month while trying to avoid damaging the car industry.
    Political leaders and car industry executives will meet in Berlin on Wednesday (August 2) to discuss inner-city pollution in a last-ditch effort to restore the battered reputation of the automotive industry and preserve hundreds of thousands of jobs.
    Germany is home to some of the world's largest carmakers but the industry has been under a cloud since Volkswagen admitted to cheating emissions tests in 2015, followed by recent accusations that VW, Daimler, BMW, Audi and Porsche colluded for decades on prices, technologies and the choice of suppliers to the detriment of foreign rivals.
    One car dealer, Richard Tendyck, told Reuters uncertainty was the worst thing. He said he was expecting some clear answers from the summit.
    Pressure to support a switch to cleaner electric vehicles is also growing, with both Britain and France setting out plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2040. DUH, the environmental lobby group that brought the Stuttgart case, said it expected action to mitigate noxious diesel emissions to go beyond voluntary software updates.
    The Environment Ministry has already made clear that software improvements can only be a first step as they reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by about 25 percent on average.
    One of the politicians attending the summit, the state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia Armin Laschet, said the summit had to reach concrete agreements on reducing nitrogen oxide levels or German cities may be forced to bring in driving bans for diesel vehicles.
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