The CDU wants to block the European Union’s proposal for a mandatory annual TÜV inspection of older cars. In a motion that the party recommends for adoption at the Union’s federal conference in Stuttgart on 20-21 February, it is stated that the testing periods already required in Germany should not be “downward adjusted”.
The EU Commission plans a reform that would require every vehicle older than ten years to undergo a yearly technical inspection. The Hamburg state association says the Commission’s proposal would impose “high additional costs for a large number of German drivers”. On average, a car in Germany is 10.6 years old, and halving the inspection interval would affect more than 23 million vehicles in the country. Low‑income households, which are disproportionately dependent on older cars and spend a larger share of their income on mobility, would be especially harmed by such a rule.
Moreover, there is no proven evidence that shortening the interval for the main inspection (HU) would lead to a significant improvement in road safety. In Germany the HU, which includes an emissions test (AU), is currently compulsory every 24 months for older vehicles and every 36 months for new ones.