The era of diesel vehicles is fading away as its time for electrified/electric vehicles to dominate. Diesel fuel is very harmful to the environment and therefore Germany’s second largest city Hamburg bans diesel vehicles. The imposed ban on diesel cars will take effect from May 31 onward.
The ban is not levied on the entire Hamburg yet but only on two major arteries of the city center. The local government has already installed warning signs alerting diesel car drivers to find a detour. Furthermore, this is not an all-out ban on all diesel vehicles but only those made before 2009. So, all diesel vehicles not meeting Euro 5 emission standards are part of the sanction.
German cities are experiencing increased air pollution even surpassing standards set by the European Union. Therefore, cities have been allowed to place their own sanction. Following the suit will be Stuttgart, home to major German car marques.
Although Hamburg bans diesel vehicles, environmentalists argue that the ban is not enough since finding the detour will still lead to pollution. So, alternate methods should be explored like increasing the use of cycling and electric vehicles. Predicting strict regulations on diesel vehicles, the demand for these vehicles took a plunge.
Other European countries such as UK, France, Netherlands, and Norway are planning on wiping off combustion engine vehicles from their roads completely by 2040.