Just one in 10 new diesel cars is as clean as the legal limit

Every major car manufacturer is selling diesel cars that fail to meet EU air pollution limits on the road in Europe, according to data obtained by sustainable transport group Transport & Environment (T&E).

On average, new EU diesel cars produce emissions about five times higher than the allowed limit. The results are compiled in the new report “Don’t breathe here”, in which T&E analyses the reasons for and solutions to air pollution caused by diesel machines and cars.

Just three out of 23 tested vehicles met the new standards when tested on the road. The main reason is that the EU’s testing system is obsolete, allowing carmakers to use cheaper, less effective exhaust treatment systems in cars sold in Europe. In contrast, diesel cars sold by the same manufacturers in the US, where limits are tighter and tests are more rigorous, have better exhaust treatment systems and produce lower emissions.

A new on-road test will, for the first time, measure diesel-driven cars’ “real-world” emissions, but this test will not apply to all new cars until 2018 at the earliest. According to T&E, carmakers are continuing to try to delay and weaken the introduction of the tests by demanding further changes to the rules only agreed in July.

Source: T&E press release, 14 September 2015
Link to the report “Don’t breathe here: Tackling air pollution from vehicles”