German state to go to court to fight city driving ban

The German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg is appealing against a driving ban for the city of Stuttgart laid down earlier this year by a court based in the city, local political sources have told dpa.

The local government decided Monday that it would appeal for a review of the ruling.

At the end of July, Stuttgart's administrative court ruled that planned measures to combat the city's high levels of nitrogen oxide and air particles were not sufficient to seriously improve poor air quality.

As such, older diesel cars face a travel ban in the city, since they are seen as the major culprit in the release of nitrogen oxide.