Merkel backs proposal to require hardware retrofits

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has backed a proposal to require hardware retrofits of older diesel vehicles' exhaust systems to reduce pollution, Spiegel magazine reported, as a deadline for a government decision nears.

The newsweekly said, without naming any sources, that Merkel had decided in favor of the mandatory upgrades and instructed her transport minister to draft legislation that would allow cars running to the Euro-5 standard on emissions to avoid inner-city bans.

Such a step would require manufacturers to carry out costly retrofits on older models with exhaust-cleaning systems that would help reduce urban air pollution.

Pollution in many German cities violates European Union norms, putting the authorities under pressure to find ways to reduce it without being compelled to do so by the courts.

Government spokesman Steffen Seibert said that an end-month deadline for coming up with a solution to the problem still applied. He declined to comment further.

Several people familiar with the matter told Reuters that Merkel will meet Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer and representatives of the automotive industry on Sunday.

Merkel's ruling alliance has been split on the best way to tackle the problem, with the environment ministry backing hardware retrofits costing around 3,000 euros ($3,500) per vehicle rather than tweaks to engine management software seen as less effective.

That's in line with the recommendation of a working group of government and car industry officials that backs so-called selective catalytic reduction hardware refits to cut emissions of harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx).

Transport Minister Scheuer, meanwhile, favors incentives for drivers of older diesel vehicles to trade them in for newer, cleaner-running, models in order to reduce overall pollution caused by the fleet of cars on the road.