Hamburg to maintain diesel ban until Berlin enforces retrofits

FILE PHOTO: Traffic signs, which ban diesel cars are installed by workers at the Max-Brauer Allee in downtown Hamburg, May 30, 2018. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo

HAMBURG/BERLIN (Reuters) - Hamburg will uphold a city-centre ban on older diesel cars until air quality improves or Chancellor Angela Merkel's government enforces retrofits of emission-reducing technology, a senior local official said on Thursday.

The ban only affects 580 meters of Hamburg's Max-Brauer-Allee and 1.6 km of Stresemann Street but is significant because it is the first such move in Germany and because it could raise pressure on car makers to undertake costly retrofits.