Würzburg/Germany, 31 January 2007
If, as part of the ongoing efforts to reduce the level of particulate matter in the air, driving bans are imposed on German roads this year, then such bans could affect millions of vehicles. And this by no means only applies to diesel engines. Germany’s automobile association, ADAC, has made the following calculation: there are 4.6 million vehicles alone with a petrol engine complying with US norms that are still licensed in Germany – in other words, although these cars have a regulated catalytic converter, they have not been certified according to Euro 1 of the European emission standards and will therefore not be given the colour-coded emission certification discs which are going to be issued in the near future for display in cars which pass the relevant standards. This means that 10 percent of all cars on our roads will be affected! These are the facts given in a report in the latest issue of »kfz-betrieb«, our magazine for the German car trade (issue no. 5 which goes on sale on 1 February).
So even if a car has a regulated catalytic converter, that alone will not protect it from a possible driving ban. Car drivers can consult car repair garages to find out which emission standard their car fulfils – especially those garages which are designated to conduct the exhaust emission inspections. Categorising cars according to emission standards is by no means a straight-forward process. The first step is to look up the emission code number in the car documents which will shed light on the emission standard fulfilled. There are also tips available for the owners of older cars as to how to guard against the risk of a driving ban and how they can benefit from tax perks. Some cars which were licensed before the European norms were introduced can simply be transcoded, which means that they can be given the emission code number for Euro 1. Also, there are upgrade catalytic converters which can improve the exhaust emissions from petrol engines. And for diesel engines, car repair garages offer a wide range of particle filters which can be retrofitted.
The new emission certification discs will be available from 1 March onwards from all designated car repair garages, which will have a sign outside clearly marking them as such.
»kfz-betrieb« is published by Vogel Auto Media, Würzburg/Germany and is the most widely read specialist magazine in the German car trade, celebrating its 95th anniversary in 2005 and fulfilling the role of official publication of the German vehicle trade association (ZDK), which represents the interests of over 40,000 car dealer businesses and repair garages.
If you have any queries, please feel free to contact:
Jan Rosenow
Editor – Services & Technology
Editorial office of »kfz-betrieb« – weekly journal & website
Vogel Auto Media
97064 Würzburg
Germany
Tel. +49 (0)931-418-2179
Fax +49 (0)931-418-2050
Email: jan_rosenow@vogel-automedien.de
