EU Commission calls for pulling manipulated diesel out of circulation

The European Commission is beginning to lose patience with carmakers and member states over the diesel emissions fraud, Markus Balser and Josef Kelberger write for Süddeutsche Zeitung. EU Industry Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska is calling all cars with manipulated emissions data to be withdrawn from circulation if they are not retrofitted by the end of the year. “The demand is explosive as millions of cars in Europe haven’t been retrofitted yet,” the article says. Bienkowska has denounced German transport minister Alexander Dobrindt’s argument that lax EU legislation allowed carmakers to cheat, saying that national authorities failed to do their job. The EU Commissioner warns that the rapid collapse of the diesel market as a result of local driving bans would be in no one’s interest but banning diesel cars could be warranted if no other solution is found.

Read the article in German here.