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All top-selling cars break emissions limits in 'real world' tests All diesel cars tested break emissions limits when driven on road
(35 minutes later)
All cars tested in a government inquiry set up in the wake of the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal exceed laboratory limits for nitrogen oxide when tested in “real world” conditions. All diesel vehicles tested by the government in the wake of the Volkswagen emissions scandal fail to meet EU standards for nitrogen oxide pollution when driven in the real world, with some emitting up to 12 times more than the limits.
A report published by the Department for Transport revealed that none of the 37 top-selling vehicles met the legal level of 180 mg/km. A Department for Transport (DfT) study, launched after it was revealed VW had used technology to allegedly cheat emissions tests, found no other company deliberately tried to rig laboratory trials.
Cars meeting Euro 5 standards – which could be sold up to September last year – were all “substantially higher” in real world conditions than the measurements recorded in the laboratory, according to the study. However it found a huge difference between the laboratory results and the amount of nitrogen oxide produced when driven normally on the road.
The Vauxhall Insignia was the worst performer in the inquiry, emitting over 1,800 mg/km. Of 19 new models tested which meet the latest Euro 6 limit of producing no more than 80mg/km of the emission in lab tests, none could reproduce this on the road. The average was nearer to 500mg/km, with some cars getting close to 1,100mg/km.
Even the best performer, the Citroen C4, was found to emit around three times the legal laboratory level. The study also revealed that none of the 37 top-selling vehicles that were claimed to have met the previous Euro 5 limit – of 180 mg/km – actually stayed within that legal level when driven in the road.
Real world driving emissions tests will be introduced next year, although diesel cars will initially be allowed to pollute more than double the current legal level because of their limited ability to reduce real world emissions in the short term. Cars meeting Euro 5 standards – which could be sold up to September last year – were all found to be “substantially higher” in real-world conditions than the measurements recorded in the laboratory.
The report found big variations depending on outside temperatures, with engines producing more emissions when it was cold.
Manufacturers told the DfT that devices to reduce emissions called exhaust gas recirculation tended to switch off when it was cold to protect the engine. This partly explained the lower lab emission readings as these were taken at temperatures of about 20C.
The junior transport minister Robert Goodwill, introducing the report, denied that this meant the lab tests were a farce, but called the results “disappointing”. None of the cars broke regulations as the only current stipulation was to pass the lab test, he said.
New regulations to come into force will oblige manufacturers to reach real-world emission standards.
“This is primarily a matter of public health,” Goodwill said. “Air quality is a very important issue in our cities. Unlike the Volkswagen situation there have been no laws broken. This has been done within the rules.
“But certainly I am disappointed that the cars that we are driving on our roads are not as clean as we thought they might be. It’s up to manufacturers now to rise to the real-world tests and the tough standards we’re introducing.”
He added: “I’m disappointed the results are as bad as they are. We expected them to be different by a factor of maybe 0.5 or two on the road compared to the lab, but the levels are disappointingly high - industry needs to raise its game.”
Among the new models tested which are meant to comply with the Euro 6 standard are the Ford Focus, which had a real-world emission about eight times above the EU limit, the Renault Megane (more than 10 times higher) and the Vauxhall Insignia, almost 10 times higher.
Officials stressed that comparisons directly between models was unfair as they were all tested on different days, with varying temperatures and road conditions.
A spokesman for motor industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said: “The differences between the results from official laboratory tests and those performed in the real world are well known, and industry acknowledges the need for fundamental reform of the current official test regime, which does it no favours.
“SMMT and industry support the introduction of the proposed new and more onerous test, RDE (real driving emissions), which will help to reflect better real-world driving.”