Two Thirds of German Cars Now Meet Highest EU Emission Standards

On April 1, 32.5 million vehicles on German roads met the Euro 6 and Euro 5 standards, equivalent to 66.6% of the vehicle fleet. If electric vehicles are included, the proportion rises to 68.8%.

At the start of 2018, the figure was slightly above 48%, taking all vehicles into account at a time when electric cars were still rare.

Cars powered by diesel or petrol engines meeting the strictest standard, Euro 6, plus electric cars now make up 46.4% of Germany’s total vehicle fleet. Almost all new registrations currently meet the Euro 6 standard, as older vehicles head to the scrapyard.

There was some variation by state. While the northern city-state of Bremen brought up the rear with just 65.5% of vehicles meeting Euro 5 or Euro 6 or being electric, Thuringia in the centre of the country led the way on 72.1%.