Germany calls for tougher emissions rules

Germany’s Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt has told an EU inquiry that legislation should be made clearer to close loopholes in emissions regulations. Automotive News Europe reports that when asked by inquiry members if EU legislation is too vague about defeat devices, Dobrindt said that software that turned off pollution control systems should only be allowed in rare cases where the manufacturer can prove there is no other technology available to protect the engine. The inquiry was set up to investigate vehicle emissions testing in Europe, following Volkswagen’s emissions-cheating scandal where the marque admitted using defeat devices to cheat tests measuring nitrogen oxide emissions. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles chief technical officer Harald Wester spoke at the inquiry, to defend the carmaker against claims from German authorities that a Fiat 500X diesel model used defeat-device software. Wester said that management software was modulated to protect the engine, which is allowed under EU legislation. Germany has asked the European Commission to mediate in its dispute with Italian authorities over the issue, and Dobrindt called for a committee to help resolve such disagreements in the future. “Currently it is very far reaching, very open to interpretation,” he told the inquiry, adding that making mandatory use of state-of-the-art technology would close the legal loophole. “I am finding one-by-one that member states are carrying out their tests and there is growing understanding of the need to change rules.” The Commission says it will issue guidelines in December on how authorities should rule on carmakers’ use of defeat devices if they are needed to protect the engine.