Germany unlikely to back diesel subsidy: state premier

DUESSELDORF (Reuters) - A meeting between German political leaders and car industry executives in Berlin on Wednesday is unlikely to back subsidies for new diesel models as a way to reduce air pollution, the premier of the North-Rhine Westphalia region said on Tuesday.

Some politicians and car executives have suggested that drivers of older, more polluting diesel cars could be encouraged to buy newer, cleaner models by offering state subsidies.
Armin Laschet, the Christian Democrat leader of the northwestern region, said that idea was unlikely to win majority support. He also said software updates of diesel cars to cut emissions would be an absolute minimum but he did not expect the meeting to agree to costlier hardware retrofits for all cars.
The summit was called to discuss ways to reduce inner-city pollution in an attempt to avert bans of diesel cars that are worrying millions of drivers.

(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi, writing by Emma Thomasson)