Without political intervention, 24% of the Walloon car fleet (439,752 vehicles) could be scrapped within the next two and a half years as part of efforts to cut air pollution, Traxio warned on Friday.
The Belgian mobility sector federation called on Walloon authorities to avoid disaster at both “the financial and mobility level” for the owners of the vehicles.
From January 1 2025, Wallonia is set to become an unofficial low-emissions zone. According to a January 2019 decree, vehicles of the Euro0, Euro1, Euro2 and Euro3 classifications will no longer have the right to drive in Wallonia (beyond a strictly limited distance). No exception will be made for the old engine types.
From January 1 2026, Euro4 cars will no longer be legal to drive in the region either, unless they were purchased before 2019.
Traxio argues that little action has been taken in the years since the plans were first made. The federation states that "There is still no execution decree", which raises the question as to what will be done with thousands of cars will no longer have the legal right to circulate in Wallonia from January 1 2025.
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The federation would like to see a system of exemption for vehicles that have been tested and have been fitted with pollution-reduction devices to encourage environmental performance. It argues that this system could allow for temporary one-year access to Wallonia.
The garage sector has already invested in a framework for using new equipment to measure exhaust gases. "It will therefore be able to help measure exhaust gases and 'clean' thermal engines so that they meet future standards that the authorities will still have to set", Traxio concludes.
Traxio has launched an urgent appeal for the Walloon government to clarify the 2019 decree.
