Madrid City Council has decided to change its plan against the most polluting cars: vehicles without an environmental label (DGT classification A) will be able to continue driving in the city, but only as long as the capital keeps pollution within the limits set by European regulations. The measure, which will be incorporated as an amendment by the PP to the new Sustainable Mobility Ordinance to be voted on this month in the Plenary Session, replaces the series of annual moratoriums that were due to expire in 2026 with an authorization conditional on air quality, which in practice makes the Madrid 360 timetable more flexible for these cars in exchange for linking their future to nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) data.
Until now, the rule stated that, from 2024 first and then from 2026, passenger cars without an environmental badge (gasoline cars registered before 2000 and diesel cars registered before 2006) had to be kept out of Madrid’s Low Emission Zone (LEZ), with exceptions and extensions for those registered in the capital who arrived at the last minute, causing many citizens to get rid of their cars for fear of fines.
But at the last minute, the City Council extended this moratorium until December 31, 2026, for some 14,000 A-rated vehicles registered in the city, allowing them to continue circulating while other cars without a sticker registered outside Madrid had been banned from entering the city for more than a year.
The fine print: air quality rules
The key to this change lies in the new control mechanism. Authorization for A vehicles is not a blank check, but a transitional provision linked to pollution data: as long as all the city’s measuring stations record nitrogen dioxide levels below the EU maximum limits, cars without a Madrid sticker will be able to continue circulating. If any station exceeds these limits, the moratorium will automatically be lifted and the original restrictions will be reinstated, forcing these vehicles out of the ZBE and requiring the ordinance to be adjusted again. Air quality can be checked on the website airedemadrid.madrid.es.
The Department of Urban Planning, Environment, and Mobility points out that Madrid has been within European air quality standards for four consecutive years, with average NO₂ concentrations well below the threshold of 40 micrograms per cubic meter set by the regulations for 2026. Hence the political message from the City Council, summarized as “we can afford it” because , according to its officials, keeping a few thousand very old cars on the road would not, according to their calculations, jeopardize the achievement of environmental objectives.
At the same time, the City Council is maintaining scrappage subsidies (€1,500 per vehicle withdrawn) and other incentives for the purchase of less polluting models.
Madrid’s PSEO has described this as “trickery,” and critics also warn that linking restrictions only to European limits, rather than to more ambitious public health targets, could slow the pace of emissions reduction and prolong the life of the most polluting vehicles just as other cities are accelerating their withdrawal. They also point to a possible effect: if NO₂ levels spike at any point and the city exceeds the threshold, thousands of drivers could find themselves with a car that is once again banned from the roads overnight.