The EQUA Mpg gap increases further in 2016

This year’s round up of EQUA fuel economy data shows a five percentage point increase in the gap between official and real-world mpg, reaching 29% in 2016.

Official mpg figures averaged 60.7mpg in the year, the highest we have seen since we started recording in 2011. This is an increase of 9% on 2015’s figures, which stood at 55.7mpg; however, real-world mpg reached just 42.3mpg. On a like-for-like basis, this represents a 3% increase on 2015.

Air conditioning

With air conditioning now widely available in cars, in 2016 Emissions Analytics updated all its mpg results to include the effect of air conditioning on fuel economy. Results are now expressed to reflect manually adjusted air conditioning (not automatic climate control) switched on at 50% of maximum throughout the test. This increases fuel consumption typically by 4%.

Incorporating the use of air conditioning, the gap between official mpg figures and real-world EQUA Index Mpg has risen to 29% on average, with the largest gaps well exceeding 40%. This increases to 75% below the official figures for hybrid vehicles that have not had their battery charged and are running purely on the ICE.

Can regulatory change reduce the gap?

From 1 September this year the World harmonised Light duty vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) will be introduced to certify the carbon dioxide and fuel economy of cars. Work started on this around 2008 and was originally intended to be a worldwide certification standard. However, with the passing of significant time and the withdrawal of North America from the process, it has become less relevant.

It will still be an improvement on the existing type approval process, which incorporates the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC), largely due to the removal or restriction of loopholes in the procedure.  However, the test cycle itself is not much more representative of real-world driving, as it remains in the laboratory with no changes in elevation and still modest acceleration rates. Our prediction, also consistent with modelling from the International Council on Clean Transportation, is that the current mpg gap of 29% and the CO2 gap between official and real-world of around 40% will approximately halve. So, a significant gap will still remain.

Crucially, it has yet to be agreed when and in what way the WLTP results will be made available to consumers. In the meantime the EQUA Index is available for anyone wishing to find out the on-road fuel economy of both Euro 5 and Euro 6 vehicles.

The Sunday Times: “UK approved Fiat’s ‘dirty diesel’ engine”

In an article dated January 15 2017 by Jonathan Leake, Environment Editor at The Sunday Times, Emissions Analytics’ CEO and founder Nick Molden is quoted as saying: “When a vehicle passes laboratory tests but shows such a different performance on the road you have to be suspicious about the technology.”

This comment was made in response to the news that Fiat Chrysler are being investigated by the US’s Environment Protection Agency and the UK’s Department for Transport due to significantly higher real-world NOx emissions than those emitted during laboratory testing.

The EPA has issued a ‘notice of violation’ to Fiat Chrysler – listing alleged devices including timers which are said to switch off parts of the emission control system after the engine has run for the short time needed to conduct tests -for failure to disclose auxiliary emission-control devices, or AECDs, which is a violation of the Clean Air Act.

Emissions Analytics found that Fiat’s 500X MultiJet with a 1.6-litre diesel engine, emitted 14 times above EU and UK limits. The Fiat Doblo van was even worse, with emission 17.8 times above the legal limit, even though it has passed official tests.

For more data on Fiat, and other vehicles visit the EQUA Index.

Weight costs fuel

2WD vs 4WD

EMIS hearing, 20 June 2016 Questions to Emissions Analytics

Euro 6 on-road testing ICCT technical report 20160929

In 2015, the ICCT commissioned Emissions Analytics, a commercial test house specializing in testing real-world fuel consumption and emissions, to perform on-road testing of Euro 6-regulated gasoline and diesel vehicles. Emissions Analytics tested 7 vehicles between 2015 and 2016 for emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and particulates. The vehicles selected for testing were a Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf, Citroën C4, Mercedes-Benz C220, Vauxhall/Opel Astra, Volkswagen Transporter and Volkswagen Caddy C20. The Ford Focus and the Volkswagen Golf were gasoline direct injection vehicles, while the rest were diesel. The detailed testing results can be found in the full report available below.

Can hybrid electric vehicles beat diesels on mpg?

Hybrids have always had a miles-per-gallon advantage in urban driving but new EQUA Index data shows that they are gaining on diesels in motoway or highway driving and, if current trends persist, hybrid electric vehicles (excluding plug-in hybrid electric vehicles) are set to take the lead in 2017.

The dotted trend lines in the above graph, representing motorway mpg for diesel vehicles and gasoline hybrids tested by Emissions Analytics, are converging. While the downturn in diesel mpg may be due to a change in manufacturers’ focus from fuel economy to NOx emissions, what is more striking is the improvement in gasoline hybrid performance on the motorway as a result of technological advances.

The step change in technology is even more noticeable when European EQUA data is compared to North American EQUA results. The graph below shows gasoline hybrid performance in the US is particularly impressive on our combined cycles. With this level of fuel economy it seems unlikely that diesel vehicles will ever make a significant impact on market share in the US. With the mpg penalty of some NOx aftertreatment systems, perhaps it was to gain a fuel advantage over hybrids that Volkswagen resorted to using a defeat device when bringing their diesel models to the US market.

Another noticeable effect of the different product mix in the US is the level of carbon monoxide emissions. Both regular gasoline cars and gasoline hybrids have much lower CO emissions than their European equivalents, with regular gasolines 30% lower and gasoline hybrids 64% lower. This is despite the fact that the US have a less strict limit, at 2.1g/km, than the EU’s, 1.0g/km limit.

When we last wrote about hybrid vehicles back in October 2014, we concluded they were delivering “good but not best-in-class fuel economy, but [were] typically the cleanest, and if you are a light-footed, congested town driver, they are ideal.” Two years on hybrids, particularly in the US, have really upped their game. They are still a cleaner drive than a diesel and may soon offer better fuel economy wherever you drive them but heavy-footed drivers should still exercise caution.

New testing cycle brings CO2 taxation uncertainty

Industy experts have raised the prospect of fleets paying higher emissions-based tax bills following the introduction of  the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP), which will replace the existing New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) test in September 2017 and is expected to inflate official vehicle CO2 figures due to its stricter rules.   

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Business Car, 30 November 2016

Emissions Analytics says average diesel emissions are still significantly reduced

Vehicle testing firm Emissions Analytics says diesels can be clean and govenments are highly unlikely to give up the fuel just yet.

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Fleet News 16 November 2016

Fuel Consumption Costs Diesel

Are diesels done for?

As the government loses a second high court ruling brought by ClientEarth, many are now sounding the death knell for diesel cars. Not so fast, says Emissions Analytics, diesels can be clean and govenments are highly unlikely to give up the greenhouse gas advantage of diesel in the short- or medium-term.
Since the introduction of Euro 6 in September 2014, manufacturers have been forced to improve their after-treatment systems to meet the stricter legislated limits for NOx. Exhaust Gas Recirculation, Lean NOx Traps, and Selective Catalytic Reduction technologies have been employed as part of a complex strategy to reduce tailpipe emissions. There have been variable successes, with some achieving the regulated limits even in real-world driving and the worst more than 20 times the legal limit. Overall, average NOx emissions from Euro 6 diesels are down 55% compared to Euro 5s.

Nonetheless, there is still the fact that many new cars do not meet the legislated limits in real-world operation. Our data shows NOx emissions are on average 4.3 times over the limit for Euro 6 cars and, after a period of improvement, this Conformity Factor is rising. This is the heart of the issue, as to whether diesels are the major and unavoidable cause of poor air quality in towns and cities.

Consequently, there have been many suggestions made to combat the problem of dirty diesels. These range from the London Mayor’s T-charge, to a diesel scrappage scheme, to a total ban on diesel vehicles in certain zones. However, Emissions Analytics’ data shows that modern diesels in their own right can be clean.

Since the launch of the EQUA Air Quality Index six months ago, twelve cars have how achieved an A-rating including the latest Volkswagen Tiguan, meaning it has met the 0.08g/km limit in real-world driving.

This proves that diesels can be clean and the reason most are not is down to a failure of regulation and enforcement and not the technical impossibility.

There is also the issue of CO2 emissions to be considered. Despite Donald Trump tweeting that climate change was, “created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive,” the British government has an empirical view on global warming and stands by its commitment to cutting its carbon footprint. Would ministers give away the 16% CO2 advantage – according to Emissions Analytics’ testing – diesel has over gasoline for the same distance driven in real-world operation, until there is a viable alternative.

In the future electric and hybrid vehicles may deliver the CO2 advantage required, as well as greatly reducing, or eliminating, NOx and other harmful emissions, at which point diesel powered engines for passenger cars may come to the end of the road. However, with a share of the market of less than 2%, there is still a way to go for these vehicles. Until then, Emissions Analytics’ data strongly suggests the policy focus should be on sorting the clean from the dirty diesels and incentivising manufacturers to bring forward clean technology.

The latest EQUA Aq Index results are available online

Emissions Analytics’ new EQUA Carbon Dioxide Index reveals car manufacturers miss target by 39%

EQUA Mpg Index – a media round up

To find out how the press have been reporting the latest EQUA Index powered by Emissions Analytics click on the links below.

The Guardian

Auto World News

Energy Live

Telegraph

Times

Drive Time

VW Tiguan makes the grade in EQUA Air Quality Index while others flounder

Fleet News: VW Tiguan gets air quality approval while others flounder

Read more from Fleet News here

VW dieselgate: Is it even about the environment

Volkswagen might have agreed to one of the largest ever corporate settlements to tackle the emissions scandal, but industry insiders are now questioning whether that’s enough.

Read more

Emissions Analytics launches EQUA Carbon Monoxide Index

Emissions Analytics is pleased to announce the launch of the EQUA CO Index. The second in the EQUA Index series, EQUA CO looks at whether carbon monoxide regulations are being achieved in real-world operation.

Potentially fatal for humans as well as damaging to the environment, carbon monoxide is generally considered a problem primarily confined to gasoline vehicles. Regulations distinguish between the fuel types, with diesels having a more stringent but, due to their technology, easier to achieve limit of 0.5g/km. Gasoline vehicles have to meet a more generous 1.0g/km limit which is typically achieved using a three-way catalyst. Therefore, the regulations are not technology neutral and allow gasoline vehicles to emit twice that of diesels and still be compliant.

In the same way that Emissions Analytics rates emissions of NOx from diesels, gasolines and hybrids with a single scale on the EQUA Aq Index, the EQUA CO Index awards a universal rating regardless of fuel type. Thus despite the regulations setting different boundaries, the EQUA CO Index allows comparisons between vehicles. The A++ to H ratings are set as follows:

Using these classes, a diesel car awarded an A to A++ meets the regulated level even in real-world driving, whereas a gasoline vehicle with a C to A++ meets the regulated levels for this fuel.

Of the 734 vehicles currently on the EQUA CO Index, 96% emit the regulated amount of CO or less. However, there are some interesting exceptions. Several Mercedes C-Class diesels are over 0.5g/km, out of a small number over the limit. Additionally, 8% of gasoline vehicles, that is 24 models tested by Emissions Analytics, do not meet the regulated limit, with one outlier being more than six times over. If the regulations were to change and gasolines had to achieve the same, stricter standard as diesels, the number of cars failing to reach this standard would increase to 20%. Of the hybrid vehicles tested, all achieve the regulated limit apart from the Mitsubishi Outlander which scored a D-rating when not running on its electric engine.

The vehicles tested by Emissions Analytics are all  run on our standard real-world cycle. The tests are conducted by a small pool of highly trained technicians and the vehicle and testing equipment is carefully prepared to make sure it is fully warmed up and in the manufacturers’ default settings.

The data shows that illegal levels of carbon monoxide are not as prevalent in real-world driving as excess NOx from diesels. However, given the toxicity of CO, this is a situation that needs to be monitored. This could become particularly relevant if there is a market shift away from diesel towards gasoline as a result of dieselgate and other emerging regulations and taxes. Emissions Analytics will continue to keep a watchful eye on on-road vehicle performance, checking it against official certification and publishing the results online on the Carbon Monoxide page at the EQUA Index site.

Subscriptions are available to the Emissions Analytics database. Contact us for details.

Downsized and supersized engines hit A grade in EQUA Air Quality Index

A visualisation of cars tested for the EQUA Aq Index

A visualisation of cars tested for the EQUA Aq Index, split by Euro standard and fuel type, showing progress towards reduction of NOx emissions.

Emissions Analytics delivers big data to ENTRIS in definitive HGV emissions tests