Clean air: Commission consults on further improvements to car emissions tests

The Commission has opened a public consultation on a draft proposal
to further improve the quality of car emissions tests to ensure more reliable results and rebuild consumer confidence. As part of the Commission’s work for a clean, sustainable and competitive
car industry, new and improved car emissions tests are mandatory since 1 September 2017:
tests in real driving conditions (“Real Driving Emissions” – RDE) and an improved laboratory test (“World Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure” – WLTP). Now the Commission is tightening the
screws further by improving these testsand introducing more controls to guarantee that vehicles already in circulation are in conformity with the emission limits. The proposal which is open for
consultation aims at reducing margins of technical uncertainty in RDE testing, increasing emissions checks of cars in circulation and testing by independent and accredited third parties. The
Commission also proposes to improve the WLTP procedure by eliminating test flexibilities and introducing for the first time on-board fuel consumption monitoring, thereby making it possible to
compare laboratory results for CO2 emissions with the average real driving situation. On the basis of the public feedback received by 5 April, the Commission will table a legal proposal for a
vote by the Member States in the Technical Committee of Motor Vehicles (TCMV).