Environmental sticker for the e-car: driving ban despite e-plates?

An e-car is often portrayed as the most environmentally friendly option in private transport, after all it avoids local emissions. However, an e-license plate alone is not enough to drive into an environmental zone, otherwise you could be fined. You can find out here why this is the case and how you can get a green sticker for your electric car.

Fine dust sticker for e-cars too? That is the reason

You need a green fine dust sticker to drive your car – regardless of whether it has a combustion engine or an electric vehicle – to be allowed to drive in German environmental zones. These include, for example, the cities of Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart and Düsseldorf. Even an e-mark is not enough to exempt you from the obligation.

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They are particularly to blame Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV). In contrast to normal hybrids (HEV), these have the option of recharging the battery at charging stations and driving an average of more than 40 kilometers fully electrically. This means that many PHEVs qualify for an e-plate.

In fact, according to data from the Federal Environment Agency, the electric driving share is unfortunately only around 43 percent. For company cars, the proportion is even lower (as of October 2021, source: Federal Environment Agency). driver so do not do without the combustion enginebut are still allowed to carry an E-mark.

Since the type of drive is difficult to determine from the outside, the regulatory office and police remain consistent and also include purely battery-electric cars general suspicion. The special number plate therefore does not exempt owners from the requirement to keep a green environmental sticker in the window in environmental zones. Failure to do so can be expensive: a woman from Munich recently had to pay more than 100 euros. Whether that is fair remains questionable.

Buying an environmental sticker: How to get into environmental zones

In order for you to be able to use an environmental badge, you usually have to apply to the responsible authority or a testing institute place. These include, for example, DEKRA, TÜV, GTÜ and KÜS.

All motor vehicles with low particle and pollutant emissions, i.e. vehicles with modern diesel technology and almost all passenger cars with petrol engines and regulated catalytic converters, receive the sticker. If you are not sure, you can have the correct particulate matter sticker determined on the DEKRA website (to the website). For this you need your vehicle registration document or your registration certificate. You can then order the particulate matter sticker by fax, post or online. It only costs you 14.80 euros.

TÜV is cheaper with a price of 9.90 euros. You will find the instructions for the ordering process on the website. Here you have to send a copy of the vehicle registration document including holder data, key number and license plate number. You can send the documents by post, fax or email to the address provided. You pay by invoice, for vehicles not registered in Germany it costs you 17.50 euros.

Alternatively you can also go to the website gruene-plakette.de drop by. You can have yours there Configure and order environmental sticker online. After ordering, however, you must have your vehicle registration document checked as a photo or scan. Here you can get the badge for 7.90 euros.