TNO report says that CO2 reductions are overstated due to test-cycle 'flexibilities'
Thu 03 January 2013
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A new report for the European Commission says that so-called 'flexibilities' in testing procedures allow official emission figures to be significantly overstated. The report adds weight to the debate about discrepancies between 'real world' and 'test cycle' emissions.
The report concludes that while there have been significant improvements in vehicle emissions over the last decade, up to a third of the total emissions reductions implied by test-cycle results may be illusory.
The report by the Dutch consultancy TNO published by the Commission late last year, looked at ‘flexibilities’ in type approval testing. It says up to two thirds of officially recorded emissions can be credited to improved technologies, but at least a third (9g/km) is likely to be the result of car makers manipulating the test procedures.
The TNO report adds credence to the conclusions of a study published in April 2012 by the International Council on Clean Transportation. That report compared official test results with a huge database of real-world fuel consumption in Germany using data from the website www.spritmonitor.de. It concluded that in the period 2001-10, CO2 emissions in Germany fell officially by 15%, but drivers reported only a 7% improvement.
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