The German Environmental Aid (DUH) has achieved success in the legal dispute with the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) regarding defeat devices in diesel vehicles. The environmental organization had filed a complaint with the administrative court in Schleswig, because it believed that so-called thermal windows were not permitted and that the shutdown devices approved by the KBA afterwards had to be removed. The lawsuit was essentially successful, the presiding judge said in the verdict on Monday. The thermal windows in the approved scope are inadmissible. Environmentalists and car manufacturers have been arguing about thermal windows for years. The software reduces the cleaning of the exhaust gases at lower temperatures, for example, so that the cars then emit more pollutants. In this specific case, it is about certain diesel versions of the VW Golf, which the KBA type-approved in 2008 and 2009. In 2016, the KBA then approved the temperature-dependent exhaust gas recirculation in the software updates. In addition to the appeal, a jump revision was also permitted. With a jump revision, the appeal instance can be skipped under certain conditions and the Federal Administrative Court can be involved directly.
Diesel vehicles – environmental aid achieves success – economy
