The Commission has proposed new legislation on tightening up its vehicle testing regime to produce results more in line with real driving conditions, which it says is the responsibility of member states to enforce.
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The top official responsible for the European single market, Elzbieta Bienkowska, said Friday that “we need full disclosure and robust pollutant emissions tests in place”.
The European Commission has called on all 28 EU member states to carry out investigations to establish if false emission claims have been made in Europe.
Volkswagen, the German auto manufacturer, has acknowledged that many millions of its cars sold worldwide have been specially equipped to trick emission tests, so as to appear less polluting.
But European governments have prioritised a reduction in climate emissions and incentivised the diesel industry with lower tax thresholds and fuel prices for cars that emit significantly less CO2.
The commission also said it has asked for the issue to be discussed by national economy and industry ministers at their next meeting on October 1. If they have their way, the new European tests will not be random, will only be conducted in urban areas – despite the high levels of pollution produced by cars on motorways – and all test cars will be driven on known routes with trained drivers to minimise pollution. Despite being called “new” the NEDC was developed in the 1970s, and got its last major revision in 1996. But there are plenty of things they can do – such as ban all diesel vehicles from city centres and introduce Euro 6 standards immediately. “By gaming the test procedure for vehicle emissions, carmakers have kept cars on the road that are multiple factors over the legal pollution limits”.
“Therefore, it is premature to comment on whether any specific immediate surveillance measures are also necessary in Europe and the implications for vehicles sold by Volkswagen in Europe”.
“The EU operates a fundamentally different system to the U.S. – with all European tests performed in strict conditions as required by EU law and witnessed by a government-approved independent approval agency”, said the chief executive of the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Mike Hawes.
According to Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator at the EPA, “using a “defeat device” in cars to evade clean-air standards is illegal and a threat to public health”.
Nick Molden, of Emissions Analytics, told The Telegraph: “The worst we’ve seen is 20 times over”.
Authorities will continue working with Volkswagen to determine what cars exactly are involved.
The European Commission is hoping to launch a new test cycle in 2017 – the World Light Duty Test Procedure (WLTP) – which aims to ensure laboratory tests better reflect real-world fuel efficiency results.
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“This should be followed up with in-use compliance testing, whereby a sample of vehicles already in use are tested to check they still comply with the emissions limits”.
