All Euro 6 diesels exceed NOx limits in real world driving, study finds

An emissions-measuring project by the TRUE initiative has revealed that all Euro 6 diesel models exceed the Euro 6 diesel NOx emissions limits measured in real-world driving.

Remote-sensing technology and statistical analysis was used to measure and report real-world exhaust emissions from EU passenger car models. The rating uses a colour-coded good/moderate/poor rating to profile the European vehicle fleet.

The research found that four manufacturer groups had average emissions more than 12 times above the Euro 6 diesel type-approval limit, and the highest-emitting vehicle family has emissions 18 times the limit

The highest-emitting petrol Euro 6 vehicle family has approximately the same level of NOx emissions as the lowest-emitting diesel vehicle family.

All Euro 5 diesel families had NOx emissions at least twice the limit, and the worst had emissions 18 times the limit.

The vehicle ratings have been put online in a searchable database hosted by TRUE at www.trueinitiative.org. TRUE is a partnership of the FIA Foundation, the International Council on Clean Transportation, the Global New Car Assessment Programme, Transport and Environment, and C40 Cities, which seeks to bring transparency to the public debate on vehicle emissions and urban air quality.

The initial data set comprises samples collected in France, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom over ten years and pooled together in the CONOX project, funded by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment. The data set presently holds ~750,000 records. The TRUE ratings were developed from a subset of ~375,000 measurements, excluding trucks and vans and any incomplete measurements. It is the largest collection of data brought to bear thus far on the problem of air pollution from vehicles in Europe.