Daimler welcomes German federal government’s concept for cleaner air

Daimler supports the concept of the German federal government and will implement further wide-ranging measures to speed up the improvement of air quality in priority regions defined by the government. The package of measures builds on the existing plan to strengthen the future of the Diesel engine that has been in effect since July 2017 and includes an attractive diesel trade-in program. “The shared objective of industry, government, and municipalities is clear: We want to rapidly further improve the air quality in the inner cities while simultaneously ensuring drivers’ individual mobility. With the federal government’s concept we are boosting what we believe is the most effective means of achieving these two goals: the renewal of the vehicle fleet. We are convinced that the nitrogen oxide emissions in the cities can be brought under control — without driving bans and with the modern diesel engine,” said Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG. 

Attractive program with up to €10,000 exchange premium

In order to rapidly renew the vehicle fleet in the 14 priority regions, Daimler AG is offering the owners of Euro 4 and — for the first time — Euro 5 diesel vehicles an attractive exchange premium: Customers who choose a new Mercedes-Benz gasoline, diesel or hybrid car certified according to the Euro 6 d-TEMP or the Euro 6c emission standard will receive an exchange premium of up to €10,000 depending on the vehicle type. If the customer chooses a “Junge Sterne” pre-owned car, the incentive can be as much as €5,000. The exchange premium is in addition to the trade-in amount for the vehicle. The Mercedes-Benz trade-in program will be supplemented by attractive financing- and leasing offers.

The exchange premium for areas of the Federal Republic of Germany outside the priority regions will continue under the same conditions as previously.

“With these incentives we are making customers tailor-made offers if they now opt for a new vehicle with more advanced exhaust gas treatment technology and substantially lower emissions. With more than 200 gasoline and diesel variants Mercedes-Benz offers a wide range of vehicles that are already certified according to the Euro 6d-TEMP emission standard,” said Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing and Sales. Mercedes-Benz has 80 percent of its car fleet in Europe certified according to the strict Euro 6 d-TEMP emissions standard — a year before it becomes mandatory for all vehicles. This is the first such standard to make use of the RDE (Real Driving Emissions) measuring process, which measures the emission values in real driving operation. 

Hardware retrofit program of the federal government

Daimler will also participate in a federal government’s hardware retrofit program. This applies for a certified and registered hardware retrofit, which Mercedes-Benz vehicle owners have carried out by a third-party supplier. The offer applies if the retrofit demonstrably permits drivers to enter cities subject to driving bans. The exact specifications are still to be clarified.