The conveners accuse the government of making an aggressive transition to the electric car that penalizes consumers

Demonstrations in favor of diesel are repeated in various geographical locations in Germany. In Stuttgart, in a march that gathered some 700 protesters on Saturday, the conveners accused the Ministry of Transport of “undue expropriation” in reference to the bans on driving in the centers of many cities. Under the slogan “yes to diesel”, slogans such as “no to the diesel ghettos” or “referendum for diesel” were heard. The organizer, a 26-year-old Porsche employee, Ioannis Sakkaros, argues that “they are loading an industry on which our work depends”.

“We wear yellow jackets because we want to show that we are politically independent, ordinary citizens who simply want to defend our right to drive with our own car like the rest. We buy it legally, we pay our taxes, and now we want to become second-class drivers, “he explains. In some other manifestations the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Merkel has participated, but in the last protests the presence of any political party has not been admitted.

Numerous workers from the Daimler plants in Untertürkheim and Sindelfingen, in addition to many others from Porsche and suppliers such as Bosch, march with posters such as «Eco Terrorism», «Stop Green Job Killer» and «Stop German Environmental Aid» (DUH) , referring to the environmental organization to which the courts are giving the reason, which results in the obligation for municipalities to prohibit the circulation of diesel cars. “Neither the measurement point in Neckartor leads to correct results, nor the dead and the sick are contaminated by nitrogen oxide,” contradicts the expert on the assembly line Nikolas Sauer, which contradicts official reports. “Politicians are canceling the registration of critical doctors,” he says.

“A very aggressive transition is taking place and in too fast a timeframes that make a consumer who bought his car in compliance with all the laws and who is being subjected to violations of legal certainty,” Sauer protests, announcing that “there will be more demonstrations like this one and we will take them to all the cities we are capable of. The closer we are to European drivers, the better we can defend our rights. ”

Penalty to this fuel

Diesel technology, however, is in serious danger of disappearing in Germany. The Government’s Transport Commission has published the first draft of the new measures that envisages an increase in 2023 of three cents per liter and, from that date, one cent more euro each year. In addition, it will end with the tax benefits from which the diesel benefited and will create a new emission tax on trucks of 80 euros per tonne of CO2.

A reduction of the speed of the stretches without limit of the motorways is also foreseen, at 130 kilometers per hour, limitation with a strong symbolic component for the Germans, and the creation in 2025 quotas of sales of electric and hybrid cars, which would force brands achieve a 25% sales of these technologies every year. In 2030 the mandatory percentage would increase to 50%. The purchase of electric cars would begin to be incentivized with public funds until they achieve a price equal to the conventional ones, which would leave the diesel models in a really disadvantaged situation compared to the rest.

ABC – Rosalía Sánchez – Madrid – 01/22/2019 (Translation Soft)