The EU has taken a step towards reforming vehicle tests that have been shown to overstate fuel efficiency and understate greenhouse gas emissions, with a vote on reforms to the system in an influential committee of MEPs on Tuesday.
But the reforms could still take more than two years to come into force, leaving vehicle buyers in the dark as to whether their cars are as efficient as claimed by their manufacturers.
The proposals – for a new unified testing standard that would weed out practices such as testing cars at altitude – have been approved by the industry committee of the European parliament but must go through more committee stages, a vote by the whole parliament, and negotiations with member states and the EU commission before they can be passed.
Current tests do not take place under real-life conditions and turn a blind eye to the practice of taping over cracks around the doors and grill, over-inflated tyres, adjusting the wheel alignment and brakes, using special super-lubricants, minimising the weight of the vehicle, testing at altitude and at unrealistically high temperatures and on super-slick test-tracks.
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