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Daimler's Home State Ordered to Ban Old Diesels or Pay a Fine

Daimler's Home State Ordered to Ban Old Diesels or Pay a Fine

(Bloomberg) -- The German State of Baden-Wuerttemberg, home to carmakers Porsche and Daimler AG, faces a 10,000 euro ($11,650) fine unless it includes bans on some older diesel models in the city of Stuttgart’s a clean-air plan.

The state government must amend its policy by the end of August or face the financial penalty, the Stuttgart administrative court ruled on Thursday. The plan must include bans of all Euro 5 type diesels starting September next year, the tribunal said in a statement on Friday.

Baden-Wuerttemberg was among the parties losing a February landmark ruling in Germany’s top administrative court saying cities must include diesel bans if necessary to comply with European Union pollution limits. While the state had reacted to that judgment by amending the Stuttgart clean air plan, it had put off bans of Euro 5 diesels to an undetermined time in the future.

The state government will study the ruling and then decide whether to appeal, a spokesman said in an emailed statement.

The ruling was won by environmental group DUH which is targeting dozens of cities over clean air policies. It is currently also in litigation with the state of Bavaria over an order to ban diesels Equity in its capital Munich, home to BMW AG.

The Baden-Wuerttemberg case is: VG Stuttgart, 13 K 3813/18.

To contact the reporter on this story: Karin Matussek in Berlin at kmatussek@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net, Peter Chapman

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