A car plant in Lagos

A German environmentalist group, on Friday won its bid to ban diesel cars that do not meet the latest emissions standards in the southern city of Stuttgart on days when pollution is heavy.

A Stuttgart court ruled in favour of Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUD), which had sued the Baden-Wuerttemberg state government for failing to do enough to tackle pollution.

With the ruling, the ban on diesel cars n the city could go ahead.

Diesel emissions had been brought to the limelight in Germany after it emerged in 2015 that Volkswagen installed cheating mechanisms in many of its cars that make them appear less polluting than they actually are when tested for emissions testing.

Environmentalist group say Stuttgart is in a valley and particularly affected by pollution.

(dpa/NAN)