Munich — German car makers, fighting for diesel’s future, faced a setback after a Stuttgart court ruled in favour of banning the technology in the home city of Mercedes-Benz and Porsche. Diesel driving bans were the only adequate solution to quickly clean up Stuttgart’s air — simply upgrading diesels was ineffective, said Judge Wolfgang Kern of Stuttgart’s administrative court, ruling on a case brought by an environmental group over the city’s failure to comply with emissions levels for smog-inducing nitrogen oxide. Kern’s decision is likely to influence a number of other judicial decisions coming in Germany on the matter. "Since 2010 until today, authorities have failed to meet their duty on lowering emissions levels," Kern said. "Driving restrictions are legally enforceable and in the court’s view a proportionate measure because protection of health has more weight than the right to property and freedom to act for vehicle owners." Car makers, the federal government and some German...
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