UK study: VW not alone in flouting RDE

The Institute for Transport Studies in the UK has made road-side tests on cars with Euro VI diesel engines and found their emissions to be at least five time higher than the Euro tests demand.

Under the leadership of Dr. James Tate, the Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Leeds in the UK, has been surveying the Real Driving Emission (RDE) performance of the UK vehicle fleet for several years.

His studies show that commercial vehicles can be ‘cleaner’ than cars and that Volkswagen is not alone in flouting emissions regulations as the chart below reveals. As the chart below also indicates, of the makes shown here by the University of Leeds, diesel cars from Ford Motor Company appeared to perform the worst. Other makes such as BMW, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz and Peugeot are implicated.

Over 700 new cars registered as complying with the latest September 2014 Euro VI emission standards have been measured this year.

By scanning through the exhaust plume trailing a vehicle as they drive through a measurement station, and knowing each vehicle’s specification (e.g. 2008, 2-litre diesel car, Audi A4) from its number plate, the research has demonstrated that NO_X emissions from all types of diesel vehicles in urban driving conditions have changed little in the past 15-20 years.

The remote sensing surveillance approach can measure the emission performance of thousands of vehicles a day, in stark contrast to the small numbers of vehicles tested in laboratories, or on-the-road with Portable Emission Measurement System (PEMS) equipment.

In the tests (pictured below) on over 700 new cars registered this year and declared to be complying with the latest September 2014 Euro VI emission standards, the NO_X emissions from Volkswagen diesel passenger cars per kilometre driven in real, urban driving conditions were observed to be 5 times the amount permitted by the Euro VI standard (0.08g/km in the laboratory, over the NEDC drive cycle).

The Instititute for Transport Studies says these results are in-line with recently published results from www.theicct.org and www.transportenvironment.org. Volkswagen is not alone in disregarding passenger car Real Driving Emissions (RDE) and the quality of air in our towns and cities.

There was little discernible difference in the NO_X performance of Euro VI diesel cars between the major manufacturers surveyed. NO_X emissions from all petrol cars were measured to be low and at a level close to the Euro VI emission standards (0.06g/km).

The European Commission has been debating the discrepancy between Real Driving Emissions (RDE) and regulatory, laboratory testing since at least 2007.

Dr. Tate says “It is imperative that the planned 2017 implementation date for RDE regulations is not delayed any longer.”

He adds, “In the interim, cities are left with the latest small city diesel cars emitting more NO_X per kilometre driven than Euro VI compliant double-deck buses or even fully laden 40-tonne articulated trucks.”