German cities are entitled to ban older diesel vehicles from streets with immediate effect to bring air pollution levels in line with European Union rules, Germany's top administrative court confirmed on Friday. The ruling came a day after the European Commission lodged a complaint with Europe's top court against Germany for its repeated failure to protect air quality in its cities. The details of the German ruling will add to pressure on automakers to provide hardware fixes for polluting diesel models. Research firm Evercore ISI has said this could cost the industry 14.5 billion euros ($17.1 billion). Germany opened the door to diesel bans in February when it allowed environmental groups to sue cities that fail to enforce Europe's clean air rules, despite fierce lobbying to oppose bans from carmakers.