Germany could take 1.3-million dirty diesel cars off the road with rebates
Munich — Germany’s effort to clean up diesel’s dirty image by getting older, more polluting models off the road is likely to spur a rush for trade-in deals from the country’s car makers. As many as 1.3-million German car owners are set to accept rebates of as much as €10,000 a car from Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW in a cash grab reminiscent of the government’s 2009 cash-for-clunkers programme. While that will jolt demand, it could still leave more than 5-million diesel cars with outdated emissions systems on German roads. Manufacturers, also including Ford, are targeting rebates at drivers of diesel autos delivered before the end of 2010, which currently number about 6.4-million vehicles in Germany. Intended to encourage purchases of cars meeting the latest pollution regulations, the incentives are the result of an agreement with the government last week aimed at preventing a crackdown on the fuel. As many as 20% of owners of vehicles complying with now-outdated Euro 1 to Euro 4 emis...
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