E-car: Don't forget the green sticker!
People think electric cars are clean enough not to require an environmental badge. People think that the E-licence plate should have been sufficient. But the legal regulations for emission-free electric vehicles clearly see things differently.
Since their introduction in 2008, environmental zones and the corresponding fine dust sticker have increasingly shaped the traffic image of major German cities. Drivers have become accustomed to this. What is not yet clear to everyone, however, is how to find one's way through the bureaucratic jungle in order to affix the right sticker to the car. Especially with newer vehicles or, for example, electric cars, the requirement of the laws seem to confuse many.
Contrary to what many people think, electric-powered cars are also required to display an environmental badge. The E-licence plate or the blue E-plate, which foreign vehicles can obtain, is not sufficient for entry into the German environmental zones. Virtually all petrol-engined vehicles with a regulated catalytic converter, as well as vehicles with an alternative type of drive, receive a green environmental badge. All other vehicles with diesel engines and higher particulate emissions would then be marked with a red, yellow or green sticker, depending on the pollutant group. Instead, no sticker would be issued for old vehicles with diesel or petrol engines without a regulated catalytic converter. These are prohibited from entering an environmental zone unless they are vintage cars.
All such vehicles - including e-cars - must not only be equipped with a valid fine-dust sticker, but must also display it prominently on the windscreen. Without a sticker, entry into an environmental zone is not permitted, which in turn means traffic and parking bans. This fact is currently being discussed in various e-car groups on the internet. After all, e-cars are emission-free on the road and are in fact allowed to enter low emission zones - but only with a green sticker.
The correct environmental sticker is ultimately the only means of protection against high fines of up to 100 euros, which are always higher than the price of the sticker. This is the only way motorists can avoid hefty fines and drive on the roads in the environmental zones without any problems. In everyday life as well as on holiday.
What about you? Do you also want to know whether your car has the right sticker for your next trip? All the information you need is available on Green-Zones.eu and in our Green-Zones app.