London and Paris to use on-road emissions data to improve air quality
Emissions Analytics’ data to help inform consumer decisions in both cities
EQUA Index launched today in France
In a drive to improve urban air quality, the cities of London and Paris will launch an on-road emissions scoring tool for residents, using Emissions Analytics’ data. The partnership was announced at C40 Air’volution in Paris today as Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and Paris Mayor, Anne Hidalgo, set out their joint plan to tackle poor air quality in both cities. Emissions Analytics has also launched its emissions database, the EQUA Index, in France today.
The Greater London Authority’s (GLA) online Clean Vehicle Checker will allow Londoners to identify the cleanest and worst-polluting new vehicles on sale. Launching in Autumn this year, the free-to-access tool will provide Londoners with on-road emissions data for nearly all new cars and vans. The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has committed to offering a similar scoring scheme.
The move to offer car buyers information on real-world emissions data comes as authorities try to address the consequences of the official emission testing system, which has historically underestimated true ‘on road’ emissions. Emissions Analytics data shows that some new cars produce more than 12 times the legal NOx limit in the real world. While the introduction of official Real Driving Emissions (RDE) tests will help to address this, it is not set to come into full force until 2021, and vehicle manufacturers will still be allowed to exceed limits by up to 50%.
Nick Molden, CEO and founder of Emissions Analytics, said: “Both the Mayors of London and Paris have identified that vehicle emissions in the real world are a major contributor to the current air quality issue. This validates the work of Emissions Analytics, which has been recording on-road vehicle emissions for six years. We are delighted that both cities will be using our data to help inform consumer decisions.”
Emissions Analytics’ EQUA Index, which provides free-to-access data on vehicles’ fuel consumption and NOx, CO2 and CO emissions, has also been launched today in France. The EQUA Index will allow Europe’s third-largest new car market to better understand the emissions that their vehicles produce in real-world driving conditions for free, by going to fr.equaindex.com.
Independently financed and implemented, the EQUA Index is designed to help end the confusion that many consumers face when trying to understand the complex subject of fuel economy and tailpipe emissions, with ratings openly published and freely available to all.
Developed by Emissions Analytics, the EQUA Index is totally independent of car manufactures, trade associations and government. The EQUA Index is a scientific undertaking, providing highly accurate information, obtained though standardised and repeatable testing conducted on real roads.
Notes to Editors
Nick Molden, CEO and founder of Emissions Analytics, is available for interview and comment on the issues relating to real-world fuel economy data and vehicle emissions.
Notes to Editors
About Emissions Analytics
Emissions Analytics is a specialist in real-world, on-road vehicle emissions measurement and analysis, covering the European Union and the United States.
Its capabilities cover the measurement of regulated pollutants, including CO, CO2, NO, NO2, NOx, total hydrocarbons and particulate matter, using officially certified Portable Emissions Measurement Systems (PEMS).
Operating since 2011, it has carried out PEMS tests on more than 1400 model variants of passenger car in addition to testing heavy goods vehicles, tractors, taxis, vans and buses. It is the unrivalled expert in the field of on-road emissions monitoring.
Its bespoke services include benchmark tests, product evaluation and real-world running costs and it offers subscription access to its database of test results, as well as confidential testing services for product development and evaluation.
As experts in vehicle emissions and fuel consumption, Emissions Analytics supports a range of commercial and publicly funded organisations. It is currently in partnership with Imperial College, London, studying urban emissions for transport planning and policy.
Emissions Analytics is willing to provide journalists with sample data for specific vehicles upon request.
About the EQUA Index
The EQUA Index is designed to evaluate the performance of individual passenger cars across the European Union in terms of fuel economy and tailpipe emissions under real-world driving conditions. The scheme will assess cars using objective performance criteria, recognising the best performers in emission levels through the ratings awarded.
The on-going programme will be separate from, and independent of, vehicle manufacturers’ certification tests. The results will be publicly available, with the aim of influencing policy development and implementation, allowing consumers to make informed purchase decisions and demonstrating the improvements that vehicle manufacturers are making in fuel efficiency.
A technical reference document on the methodology is available on request.
The EQUA Index is owned, funded and operated by Emissions Analytics, which retains all rights associated with the results and ratings.
For more information, please contact:
Alex Michaelides (Torque): 020 7952 1078, amichaelides@torqueagencygroup.com
Matt Sanger (Torque): 020 7950 1079,