On Friday 31 August, the European Commission hailed the news that the new worldwide harmonised light vehicles test procedure (WLTP) becomes obligatory for all new vehicles from 1 September 2018.
"Since the Dieselgate scandal broke three years ago, we have fundamentally changed the rules of the game", European Commissioner for Industry and the Single Market Elżbieta Bieńkowska stated.
This new test procedure came into force back in September 2017 but just for new vehicle models (see EUROPE 11852). The WLTP offers the advantage of being more precise than the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC), which has become obsolete since its entry into force in the '70s. These two test cycles will be applied in parallel until 2021, when the WLTP will replace the NEDC definitively.
These new tests are expected to reduce the possibilities of getting around the emissions standards for certain atmospheric pollutants, nearly two years after Dieselgate, which brought the practices of German car manufacturer Volkswagen to light (see EUROPE 11396). They will be added to the procedures on real driving emissions (RDE).
"Stricter emissions tests are one piece of the puzzle", Bieńkowska conceded, adding that she was following the different national investigations underway and the state of progress on the recalls of non-regulatory vehicles.
The European Commission's caution can be understood. National investigations are slipping. Recently, the French judicial authorities have complained about a lack of cooperation from the German authorities (see EUROPE 12080).
As to the new harmonised tests, having scarcely entered into force, the Joint Research Centre has brought to light automobile manufacturers' fraud on emissions as they are reported to overestimate CO² emissions to weaken the 2025 and 2030 emissions targets (see EUROPE 12070). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)