VW's low emissions

A year on from Volkswagen’s emissions-cheating scandal, the German marque has been found to be selling the least polluting cars of any vehicle manufacturer, says the Daily Mail. A study by European NGO, Transport & Environment, found that while Volkswagen models currently being sold new in dealerships still emitted twice the Euro 6 nitrogen oxide (NOx) limit, it is the cleanest of any of the carmakers tested. However, the reports says that the improvement in emissions released by Volkswagen isn’t a reaction to its emissions scandal, instead attributing the lower emissions to “better technology choices made before the scandal burst.” The Environmental Protection Agency’s uncovering of the scandal last September only focused on Euro 5 emissions models, which covers cars sold between 2011 and 2015. Vehicles sold since have to adhere to restrictions set by the new Euro 6 standards. The report found that none of the mainstream car brands complied with the current Euro 6 emissions limits for diesel cars and vans in real-world driving. Tests were carried out on around 230 diesel models, with data taken from investigations conducted by the British, French and German governments, as well as a large public database. Figures were based on real-world on-road data, rather than laboratory measurements. According to the report, Fiat and Suzuki diesel cars were found to emit the most emissions, on average exceeding the Euro 6 limits by 15 times. Renault and Nissan vehicles exceeded the limit more than 14 times, while Vauxhalls were found to pollute 10 times more than the current limits. The four least-polluting brands were all Volkswagen Group companies, including Audi, Seat and Skoda. Transport & Environment says the results of the tests showed the “scandalous cover up” within the auto industry, and called for a clean-up of vehicle emissions in Europe. Greg Archer, clean vehicles director at the organisation, says: “One year after the US caught Volkswagen cheating, all carmakers keep selling grossly polluting diesel cars with the connivance of European governments.” “The automotive industry has captured its regulators, and European countries must now stand up for their citizens and stop this scandalous cover up. “Only a recall of all harmful diesel cars will clean up our air and restore credibility in Europe's legal system.” Additional calculations made by Transport & Environment suggested that 29 million diesel cars and vans on European roads would be classified as “dirty”, meaning that for Euro 5 cars, they are at least three times over the relevant NOx limit. Only one in four diesel vehicles registered since 2011 are under the limit. Archer says: “The true scandal of Dieselgate in Europe is national regulators turning a blind eye to the glaring evidence of test cheating with the sole purpose of protecting their national carmakers or their own business." “This is killing tens of thousands of people annually. We need a European watchdog to stop EU member states protecting their national champions and to ensure the single market for vehicles operates in the interests of all citizens.”