Thermal windows: the next big scandal or an innocent technicality?
Recent months have seen a growing a body of evidence, from different sources, that NOx emissions from cars are higher when the ambient temperature is lower.
Recent months have seen a growing a body of evidence, from different sources, that NOx emissions from cars are higher when the ambient temperature is lower. This month, Emissions Analytics mined its real-world database to assess the evidence.
The accusation is that NOx reduction devices, including exhaust-gas recirculation, are programmed for reduced operation below the 20°C of the official test. The effect would be higher NOx emissions, with the motivation supposedly to deliver better real-world fuel economy.
Some manufacturers argue that this is, in fact, to protect the engine from damage at lower temperatures, and that doing this is perfectly legal. However, with average temperatures in the UK around 9°C across the year, this has a potentially significant impact on air quality and governments’ attempts to achieve air quality targets.
To quantify the issue, we segmented NOx data from our on-road PEMS tests into groups above and below 18°C, and found the following differences in the average Conformity Factor (ratio of real-world NOx to official limit).
Conformity Factors of Euro 5 & 6 vehicles above and below 18°C
While the result for the Euro 5 vehicles was statistically significant, this was not the case for Euro 6 due to a small number of very high emitters. As our sample size increases, we will be better able to assess whether there is a pattern for Euro 6 cars.
Looking in more detail at the Euro 5 vehicles, the data suggests that there are seven manufacturers with clearly higher emissions below 18°C, which is shown in the chart below.
Conformity Factors for Euro 5 vehicles by manufacturer
The intention of this newsletter is not to name names, but to indicate that it is not one manufacturer but several that may be utilising the thermal window loophole. If the hypothesis is correct, it could mean that many millions of vehicles on the road today in UK and the colder parts of Europe are putting out higher emissions than expected. Further, as Euro 5s, these vehicles are not that old and therefore will be on the road for many years to come.
Clean air heroes hidden among Euro 6 villains
Ensuring that it remains difficult to pick the saints from the sinners, the latest additions to the comprehensive EQUA Air Quality (Aq) Index show that Euro 6 vehicles continue to deliver drastically different results when tested in the real world.
Ensuring that it remains difficult to pick the saints from the sinners, the latest additions to the comprehensive EQUA Air Quality (Aq) Index show that Euro 6 vehicles continue to deliver drastically different results when tested in the real world.
Extremely polluting Nissan and Renault diesel cars still on sale, data reveals
Cars that emit up to 18 times the official NOx limit in real-world conditions are still being sold, 20 months after the emissions scandal broke and amid an ongoing air pollution crisis. Read the full article from The Guardian here.
Cars that emit up to 18 times the official NOx limit in real-world conditions are still being sold, 20 months after the emissions scandal broke and amid an ongoing air pollution crisis.
The continued sale of highly polluting diesel cars is surprising, said Nick Molden, at Emissions Analytics: “The technology to clean up diesel emissions has existed for quite a long time.”
Toxic times for diesel
Diesel has had something of a rough time of it over the past 18 months. It started with the Volkswagen ‘Dieselgate’ scandal that broke in September 2015, while more recently there have been concerns over nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and air quality in general, especially in city centres.
According to Nick Molden, CEO and founder of Emissions Analytics – a company that tests car emissions in the real world – some meet and can even beat the limits prescribed by the Euro6 emissions regulations, while others, according to Emissions Analytics’ data, emit 20 times the NOx that they should.
EQUA Air Quality Index – Release
New EQUA Index reveals true pollutant emissions for car buyers.
New EQUA Index reveals true pollutant emissions for car buyers
With Mitsubishi Motors the latest manufacturer to admit to impropriety in its testing procedures, the need for impartial real-world data has never been greater.
With Mitsubishi Motors the latest manufacturer to admit to impropriety in its testing procedures, the need for impartial real-world data has never been greater. Today Emissions Analytics is launching the new EQUA Index rating scheme to help bring transparency in the first instance to the issue of air quality.
The EQUA Air Quality Index is based on the level of emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in grams per kilometre emitted during our real-world tests. The Index aligns the boundaries between ratings values as much as possible with recognisable points. See below:
The EQUA Air Quality Index is intended to complement the forthcoming regulations for new vehicle certification, by monitoring vehicle performance when driven normally on roads; in effect keeping a watchful eye on the effectiveness of the new regulations.The problems with the existing test system, the NEDC, which have been the cause of so many of the issues covered by the media recently, are already being addressed by regulators in Europe. From 2017 the World Harmonised Light Duty Test Protocol (WLTP) will change the way CO2 is measured and Real Driving Emissions will address problems with NOx measurement.
The other great benefit of the EQUA Air Quality Index is to help car buyers. Designed to be clear and concise, the simple A to H rating allows manufacturers and retailers to show how different models compare in the showroom, whether diesel, petrol or hybrid. It is also ideal for car reviewers and publishers to include as new cars are reviewed. And because the scheme is independently financed and researched, consumers, companies and the wider automotive industry can have confidence in the impartiality of the data.
The EQUA Air Quality Index has been developed by Emissions Analytics in conjunction with a group of experts to guide, review the test and rating methodology, monitor the regulatory context, and provide input into the wider development of the index. The group includes:
The EQUA Air Quality Index has been developed by Emissions Analytics in conjunction with a group of experts to guide, review the test and rating methodology, monitor the regulatory context, and provide input into the wider development of the index. The group includes:
Professor Helen ApSimon – Air Pollution Studies, Imperial College London, UK
Dr Adam Boies – Department of Engineering, The University of Cambridge, UK
John German – Senior Fellow, The International Council on Clean Transportation, USA
Dr Marc Stettler – Centre for Transport Studies, Imperial College London, UK
Professor Martin Williams – Air Quality Scientist, King’s College London, UK
There are almost 450 vehicles on the EQUA Air Quality Index now, so why not have a look?
Daily Mail: Cars to get simple ‘eco ratings’ like fridges and washing machines to tackle diesel fears and pollution-linked deaths
On 29 March 2017, London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that he would be introducing a system based on the EQUA Index data, to allow motorists to choose the least polluting vehicles.
Read the full account by Daily Mail motoring correspondent Ray Massey.
Emissions Analytics to power Clean Vehicle Checker for London and Paris
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.
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,
4x4s come clean in latest EQUA Air Quality NOX ratings
4x4s come clean in latest EQUA Air Quality NOX ratings
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.
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.
EMIS hearing, 20 June 2016 Questions to Emissions Analytics
Emissions Analytics questions and and answers on the EMIS hearing
Full report can be read or downloaded.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Business Car, 30 November 2016
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