They are going to pollute twice license, and should be welcomed. While Brussels will set up a test of the vehicles in real conditions, the European Parliament has authorized manufacturers to pollute more than twice the norm. On the road, they can exceed 110% of the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), established since 2014 to 80 mg / km for diesel and 60 mg / km for petrol engines. In a statement, the ecologist MEP Karima Delli accuses Europe of having “yielded to the sirens of the automotive industry,” and his group denounced “a license to cheat.”
It is a story of coefficients. From 1 September 2017, laboratory engine tests will be complemented by road tests that will determine the registration of new vehicles. A new protocol called WLTP – RDE (Worldwide Harmonized light vehicles test procedures – Real driving broadcasts).
The Commission wanted to be more severe
But by that time, automakers consider themselves still unable to meet the standards in real conditions. It was necessary to set a coefficient exceeded that their cars are not readjusted. The Commission, initially, had evoked a coefficent of 1.6 in 2017, then to 1.2. At the end of a working group with the manufacturers, she finally suggested 2.1, or 110%, before moving to the more restrictive factor of 1.5 in 2020. This is the timeframe that has been validated by the Parliament.
For environmentalists, a coefficient of 1.3, a difference of 30% in 2017 would have been enough to tolerate a simple error. “European manufacturers have had almost 10 years to adapt to the new standards,” complained the MP Michèle Rivasi. Indeed, the Euro 6 standard currently in force was passed as early as 2007 by the European Parliament. But the official position of France was also tolerate a difference of 100% between emissions in the laboratory and those on the road.
“This is not a gift for the constructors’
Was it realistic to expect more manufacturers? The Commission recalled that the current gap between testing and actually averaged 400%. It highlights the fact that Europe is the first region in the world to develop tests in real conditions. “If we set a lower threshold, it could put the majority of manufacturers off-nails in 2017,” said L’Express MEP EPP Franck Proust. According to him, the green light from Parliament allowed “not to delay the implementation of real value tests, which terminates the total hypocrisy” for anti-pollution standards. “This threshold is far from being a gift for the manufacturers,” he says, “they sometimes exceed 5 to 6 times the standard.”
They do seem to be satisfied with the measure. “These new higher standards will be very difficult to achieve in such a short time, but manufacturers welcome this clarification needed, and will do their utmost to comply with it,” said Erik Jonnaert, the secretary of the association European manufacturers (ACEA). According to The Argus , manufacturers have done everything behind the scenes to delay the procedure RDE.
The fear of making too expensive car
Yet some as Peugeot have passed the tests conducted by independent technical committee set up by Ségolène Royal after the Volkswagen scandal, with a gap approximately equal to 100%. But they already have in mind, with some concern, 2020. “The technology we use allows us to be already in the nails for 2017, but progress requires investment that could involve additional costs for buyers our vehicles. We also need to ensure that they remain available, “said L’Express Laure de Servigny, spokesman for Peugeot.
Lost in the open field facing the manufacturers or pragmatism to advance the fight against pollution? Progress very measured, certainly. “As the emission measurement technologies improve, we will continue to tighten the screws” on Wednesday promised the Commission. It will soon present an overflow coefficient for fine particles. Another project which Europe wants to tackle, the independence of testing laboratories, accused of being too close to the manufacturers. By cons, nothing is provided to monitor carbon monoxide (CO) in real conditions.
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