Transition time necessary to change emissions tests, says ACEA

The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) has called for a reasonable transition time for changes to emissions tests that will more accurately represent real world driving conditions.

The European Commission (EC) has plans to introduce real driving emissions (RDE) tests from January 2016, with regulations based on those tests coming into effect from September 2017.

The ACEA has issued a statement saying that it agrees with these proposed changes, but urges caution in the time frame of the roll out and introduction of regulations, to allow for the technical and economic realities that manufacturers are faced with.

The proposed RDE tests will come in a three stage process. The first will act as a guide to real world emissions, allowing manufacturers to work out how far these are from the current laboratory test figures.

The second will see restrictions on emissions rise for the first time since restrictions came into effect. This rise is due to the fact that the current level are thought to not reflect real world driving, meaning that restrictions will need to modified to account for this. The third stage will then see restrictions brought back down to current levels, but actually reflecting these emissions in real world situations, not just in laboratory testing conditions. This final stage is likely to come in around 2019.

In response to these plans, the ACEA statement said: "The ACEA understands that the European Commission has come forward with a proposal for some of the essential elements needed for legislation on RDE. The automobile industry agrees with the need for emissions to more closely reflect real-world conditions, and has been calling for proposals for years.

"ACEA supports a robust but realistic RDE package that will address the key environmental issues under a two-step approach, as already agreed by the member states. ACEA fully understands the need for step one of RDE to commence from September 2017 for new vehicle types, and has always been committed to this. ACEA continues to stress the need for a timeline and testing conditions that take into account the technical and economic realities of today's markets, allowing for reasonable transition time to apply RDE to all new vehicles."

Erik Jonnaert, ACEA Secretary General, added: "We are fully aligned with the need to better measure the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from diesel cars and vans under normal driving conditions. However, it is important to proceed in a way which allows manufacturers to plan and implement the necessary changes, without jeopardising the role of diesel as one of the key pillars for fulfilling future CO2 targets."

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