The German government has reportedly found a new compromise aimed at keeping diesel cars on the road. Details of the "complex" plan are set to be revealed in the coming hours.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Carstensen
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The German government reached a "highly complex" agreement early on Tuesday on a "concept for clean air and the protection of individual mobility in our cities," in the wake of the country's diesel scandal.
The compromise followed six hours of deliberations in Berlin, as members of Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling conservatives and their junior coalition partners, the Social Democrats (SPD), sought to avoid city-level bans on diesel cars.
The agreement will focus on retrofitting old diesel-engine vehicles currently on the road. The ministers for environment and transport are expected to present the exact details of the plan later on Tuesday.
Treading a fine line: The key challenge for the government was to avoid additional costs for car owners in the drive to lower pollution whilst at the same time protecting jobs in Germany's vital auto industry. At the center of negotiations was the question of whether the industry would be made to foot the full bill for a retrofitting of old cars, or if consumers would have to pitch in as well. Following a range of recent crises over migration and a former spy chief, the coalition government was keen to show it still has the ability to act.
Seeking compromise: In the lead-up to discussions, coalition politicians had also butted heads over the best way to deal with the polluting cars. Conservative Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer had called for automakers to provide incentives to diesel car owners to trade them in for newer, cleaner models. The SPD, including Environment Minister Svenja Schulze, favored refitting the old cars with new equipment.
How we got here: It was the culmination of longstanding debate over the fate of German car owners whose vehicles were fitted with manipulative software. Auto giant VW was found to have rigged diesel cars worldwide to lower the apparent level of toxic emissions in a scandal known as 'Dieselgate'. After the scandal broke, and following data showing unhealthy level of diesel toxins in various German cities, German courts paved the way for city driving bans to be instituted.
Dieselgate: A timeline
VW's emissions scandal plunged the automaker into its deepest crisis ever. It brought with it everlasting damage to VW's reputation and massive fees and penalties — not to mention compensation claims from car owners.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Stratenschulte
The disaster unfolds — September 2015
About two weeks after Volkswagen admitted behind closed doors to US environmental regulators that it had installed cheating software in some 11 million of its diesel vehicles worldwide, the Environmental Protection Agency shared that information with the public. It was September 18, 2015. The ensuing crisis would eventually take a few unexpected turns.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Spata
The boss must go, long live the boss — September 2015
Volkswagen's then-CEO Martin Winterkorn (above) had little choice but to step down several days after news of the scandal broke. In September 2015, he tendered his resignation, but retained his other posts within the Volkswagen Group. Winterkorn's successor was Matthias Müller. Until taking the reins at VW, Müller had been the chairman at Porsche, a VW subsidiary.
Image: picture-alliance/Sven Simon
Raiding headquarters — October 2015
Regulators in the US weren't the only ones investigating VW. Authorities in Lower Saxony, the German state in which VW is based, were also scrutinizing the company. On October 8 2015, state prosecutors raided VW's headquarters along with several other corporate locations.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Steffen
Hell breaks loose — January 2016
On January 4, 2016, the US government filed a lawsuit against VW in Detroit, accusing the German automaker of fraud and violations of American climate protection regulations. The lawsuit sought up to $46 billion for violations of the Clean Air Act.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Burgi
Quit or forced out? — March 2016
In March 2016, the head of VW in the US, Michael Horn, resigned. In the initial days and weeks after the scandal broke, he was the one US authorities turned to for information. He issued an official apology on behalf of the automaker, asking for the public's forgiveness.
Image: Getty Images/C. Somodevilla
Settlement — October 2016
On October 25 2016, a US judge approved a final settlement that would have VW pay $15.3 billion. In addition, affected cars would be retrofitted with better, non-deceptive hardware and software, or else VW would buy them back completely from customers.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Pleul
Imitators — July 2017
When dieselgate first emerged in 2015, analysts said it was likely other car makers were also cheating tests. But it wasn't until 2017 that other companies were targeted in probes. In July, German authorities launched investigations into luxury car makers Porsche and Daimler for allegedly cheating emissions tests. Others, such as Audi and Chrysler, have also been hit by similar allegations.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Kraufmann
Public still supportive — December 2017
Despite dieselgate, VW has managed to keep the emissions scandal from utterly tarnishing its image. According to several polls, between 55 to 67 percent of Germans continue to trust the automaker. In the US, polls show that roughly 50 percent still believe the German company produces worthwhile vehicles.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Klose
Fuming over monkeys — January 2018
In late January, however, VW suffered another heavy blow over reports that the company experimented on monkeys and made the animals inhale diesel fumes. To make matters worse, a separate experiment that had humans inhale relatively harmless nitrogen dioxide was revealed at the same time. Some media wrongly interpreted this to mean humans were also inhaling toxic fumes.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Gentsch
Canadian court demands millions — January 2020
Years after the scandal that caused Volkswagen to pay CAN$2.4 billion (US$1.83 billion), a court in Toronto order a further fine of CAN$196.5 million. Volkswagen pleaded guilty of violating in environmental laws. Prosecutor Tom Lemon noted that the fine was "26 times the highest fine ever for a Canadian environmental offence."
