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www.get-real.org Get Real – Demand fuel figures you can trust
Real-world fuel consumption of passenger carsPart I: Test manipulations & exploitation of loopholes
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Get Real – Demand fuel figures you can trust www.get-real.org
The gap between official and on-road fuel consumption keeps growing
The gap between official laboratory-based CO2 emission measurements and real-world performance of new passenger cars has been growing consistently for 15 years now: While in 2001 the average deviation from type-approval fuel consumption levels came to 9%, by 2012 it had more than tripled to about 28%, and in 2015 it reached an average value of around 42%. During this time, there has been no change in the EU test procedure for measuring CO2 emissions.
New passenger cars are not becoming as efficient as manufacturers officially state. In reality, CO2 emissions from new passenger cars are not decreasing but, at best, remaining stable. The growing CO2 gap undermines EU climate protection efforts as EU CO2 emission standards for passenger cars - a major plank in the EU climate policy – are based on manufacturers’ misleading CO2 emission values. The gap further translates into unexpected fuel expenses for consumers. According to the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), the gap costs consumers about 450€ per year, on average.
Gap
betw
een
offi
cial
and
rea
l-w
orld
fue
l con
sum
ptio
n (%
)
9%
42%
45%
40%
50%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
© T&E/DUH; Source: ICCT, 2016
Average divergence between official and real-world fuel consumption of new passenger cars
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www.get-real.org Get Real – Demand fuel figures you can trust
How has the widening of the CO2 gap been possible?
Type-approval CO2 emissions from passenger cars are currently measured in a laboratory on a chassis dynamometer (a roller test bench) following a standardized driving cycle. The aerodynamic and rolling resistance values of the test vehicle, which are needed to adjust the dynamometer, are determined on an outdoor track before laboratory testing. On the track, the vehicle is first accelerated to a certain target speed and then allowed to coast until it comes to a full stop.
For type-approval tests, carmakers use pre-series vehicles that deviate significantly from production ones. Further, test vehicles are illegally prepared in a way that renders them useless for real driving conditions: To lighten the car and reduce its rolling resistance during the coast-down test, manufac-turers over inflate the tires, seal doors and radiator grilles with tape, take off exterior mirrors, use slightly sloped test tracks, and, in some cases, even remove the car doors.
Manufacturers' deception techniques during the coast-down test
Seal doors and radiator grilles with tape
Overinflate the tires Take off exterior mirrors
Remove the car doors Drive the car downhill © T&
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Get Real – Demand fuel figures you can trust www.get-real.org
Once in the lab, the test is conducted with all ancillary loads, such as air conditioning or lights, turned off, as foreseen by the regulation. Thus, the impact that these have on fuel consumption is not reflected at all in the test result. In addition, manufacturers exploit test loopholes and measurement flexibilities and, for example, interrupt battery charging by switching off the alternator or declare a CO2 value that can be up to 4% below the actual test result.
On top of this, some manufacturers use so-called defeat devices: They install software that detects when the vehicle is undergoing emissions testing and then employs a low fuel consumption mode that is specifically designed for the test cycle. For example, a software discovered by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) lowers the fuel consumption of the car as long as the steering wheel does not move, as is the case on a test bench. As soon as the steering wheel is turned by more than 15 degrees, the software switches to a regular mode with higher fuel consumption.
These practices are not mere legal tricks but intentional consumer deception. By increasingly making use of them, carmakers manage to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions – on paper.
Car manufacturers are obliged to issue honest fuel consumption figures. The corresponding EU Regula-tion 715/2007 stipulates that type-approval CO2 and air pollutant emissions have to be aligned with those emitted on-road throughout the normal life of the vehicle under normal conditions of use. All intentional deviations between laboratory and on-road performance are therefore an infringe-ment of the legislation and should be penalized.
In recent years, car manufacturers have increasingly manipulated type-approval tests. Manipu-lations cannot be excluded if the declared values are not controlled by an independent body.
Manufacturers' deception techniques on the roller test bench
Detect test situation and activate fuel saving mode by monitoring
the steering wheel position
+15°. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Reduce test mass by offering ordinary equipment (e.g. A/C system, radio, spare wheel…) as extra equipment
A 0
MAXA/C
Using higher gears allows the engine to operate more efficiently than on the road
Interrupt battery charging by switching
off the alternator
CO2 results declared by the manufacturer can be up to 4%
below the actual test result
4%
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www.get-real.org Get Real – Demand fuel figures you can trust
We need an independent official body to monitor real-world fuel consumption.
We urge national governments to appoint an independent official body that monitors real-world CO2 emissions and conducts independent inspections of randomly selected production cars. Vehicles should also be tested in case of suspicion of noncompliance. Official fuel consumption values should be corrected if the deviation between type-approval fuel consumption and the ex-post control measure-ment exceeds 4%. This is already common practice in the U.S., where the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) compels manufacturers to correct their declared fuel consumption data if a discrepancy of more than 4% is detected. Further, the U.S. EPA discloses frauds and imposes fines worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the event of a violation. The EU surveillance body should also be empowered to issue vehicle recalls and impose adequate penalties for transgressions.
In the future, car buyers must be able to rely on official CO2 emission figures.
EU Vehicles Surveillance Agency
U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) Correct declared fuel consumption -
deviation of +4% allowed4%
National platform for trackingon-road fuel consumption
Disclose fraudsand impose fines
Establishment of an independent bodyfor monitoring real-world performance
Spot check carson EU roads
Correction of type-approval values in case of official vs. ex-post control discrepancies over 4%
Power to issue vehicle recalls and impose penalties for non-compliance
Conduct in-use testsof production vehicles
TESTS
Monitoring real-world CO2 emissions: what the U.S. has and what the EU needs
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Get Real – Demand fuel figures you can trust www.get-real.org
www.get-real.org
“Get Real – Demand fuel figures you can trust” (LIFE15 GIC/DE/00029, Close the gap) is funded under the LIFE programme of the EU Commission.
“Get Real” is a joint project between:
Deutsche Umwelthilfe e.V.
Hackescher Markt 4 10178 Berlin, Germany
www.duh.de
Eva Lauer Project Manager Phone: +49 (0)30 2400 867-76 e-mail: [email protected]
Sonsoles Díaz Project Manager +49 (0)30 2400 867-735 [email protected]
Transport & Environment
2nd floor, 18 square de Meeûs Brussels, 1050, Belgium
www.transportenvironment.org
Yoann Le Petit Clean Vehicles and Emobility Officer Phone: +32 (0)2 851 02 08 e-mail: [email protected]
This document is Part I of a series of brief papers dealing with the discrepancy between official and real-world fuel consumption in the EU. Please visit the campaign website to find out more: www.get-real.org
The aim of our project “Get Real: Demand fuel figures you can trust” is to improve consumer rights, to advocate against misleading practices in the frame of type approval, and to strengthen market surveillance. As part of the campaign, we want to make public illegal practices such as the detection of test stands or the use of test vehicles that deviate signifi-cantly from production ones. At the same time, we want to encourage authorities and policy makers to enforce existing regulations and conduct in-use conformity inspections, to correct misleading type-approval values, and, in the event of fraudulent practices, impose penalties that are „effective, proportionate and dissuasive“ (EU Regulation 715/2007).
