CO₂ emissions from cars around 20% higher in real-life conditions, according to European Commission

CO₂ emissions from passenger cars and light commercial vehicles are around 20% higher in real-life conditions, the European Commission has revealed in a report submitted to the Council of the EU on Wednesday 27 March.

The average difference in CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption between real life conditions and values based on the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) for new cars registered in 2021 was 23.7%, or 34.6 g of CO₂/km for petrol cars. The average difference was 18.1%, or 27.8 g of CO₂/km for diesel cars.

According to the Commission, these results confirm that the switch from the ‘New European Driving Cycle’ (NEDC) to the ‘WLTP’ procedure for determining official CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption values has reduced the gap with real-life conditions by around half.

Fuel consumption in real-life conditions is still around a fifth higher than shown in the official type-approval documents. This gap widens particularly for heavier vehicles, such as SUVs and luxury vehicles, whose emissions are already significantly higher than those of other vehicles.

Read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/bl0 (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)