The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has reiterated that it fully agrees with the need for emissions to more closely reflect real-world conditions. The statement follows the debate on real-driving emissions (RDE) during the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on January 18, 2016.
“We urgently need to have a new test method to bridge the gap between the current laboratory testing of pollutant emissions, as defined by law, and the very different conditions experienced on the road,” said Erik Jonnaert, ACEA secretary general. Alongside other stakeholders, ACEA has therefore been contributing constructively to the efforts of the European Commission and member states to develop a robust RDE test.
During the October meeting of the commission’s regulatory committee, the Technical Committee of Motor Vehicles (TCMV), a tough compromise was agreed on RDE with testing standards that will be extremely difficult for automobile manufacturers to reach in a short space of time, and highly challenging targets in a second step. The TCMV also agreed that the RDE conformity factor should be reviewed in the future.
“Despite the challenges in the latest proposals, the industry urgently needs clarity now so manufacturers can plan the development and design of vehicles in line with the new RDE requirements. Any delay to this legislation would leave little time to make the necessary changes and ultimately would just push back the benefits for the environment,” stated Jonnaert.
January 26, 2016
