The DGT, just a few days before the end of the year, has presented a new twist to the environmental labeling of cars. Aware of the impossibility of the vast majority of low emission zones in Spain coming into operation on January 1, it has decided to advance work and create a new restrictive tag environmental. The label D will be reserved only for high mileage carsregardless of the environmental regulations for which they have been approved.
From the government body, several technicians explain the reasons that have led the DGT to create this new label. The director of the Department of Intelligent Solutions (SI) communicates to the press that the D label is not a whim: “it has been a necessity”, cause of the aging fleet of our country. Although many cars have a B and C environmental label, the DGT believes that it has been too “permissive” with its labeling, and that because of its age and wear, its real level of environmental impact is considerably higher.
Even if it is well maintained, the DGT believes that a car with more than 200,000 km is very polluting and must be replaced.
The impact on people’s respiratory health of nitrogen oxides and suspended particles is undeniable, and the DGT affirms that the engines that accumulate many kilometers behind them are no longer capable of meeting the emission values for which they were certified. Given the impossibility of carrying out stricter emissions tests in ITV, for budgetary reasons, they have decided to create a new label D. This label It will be applied to any vehicle that has more than 200,000 kilometers.
When our car exceeds that mileage and an ITV verifies it and notes it in our technical file and its computer files, our car will be classified as “label D”. It will do so automatically and irreversibly, unfortunately. What restrictions does a car with a D label face? To the same as a vehicle without an environmental label: We will not be able to circulate through the low emission zones of our country. If we do, we will face a fine of 200 euros, just like an A-rated vehicle.
The ITV will be responsible for verifying the mileage of the car to modify its environmental labeling.
The placement of the D label is not mandatory, but some municipalities require that the label be visible at all times, even in areas where its circulation is not restricted. However, from the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, they believe that vehicles with a D label can be great allies for public coffers and the protection of the environment. Inocencio Fernández, a technician from the ministry, reports that through the payment of a monthly fee of 28 eurosit will be possible to revert the D tag back to its source tag.
In other words, if my car has 360,000 kilometres, but I pay 28 euros a month, the DGT database will once again classify it as a B label vehicle, and I will be able to drive again in low emission zones. The reactions of the motorist associations and the employers’ association of the automobile sector (ANFAC) have not been made to beg. They believe that this new environmental labeling is serious news for citizens and A bad taste jokeas well as announcing the measure without prior notice on December 28, just three days before the end of the year.
Happy April Fool’s Day!
