Test cycle overhaul needed now
Responding to the news that the US Environmental Protection Agency issued a Notice of Violation against VW for using emissions defeat software to meet US environmental standards Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said:
“Even before this scandal there was plenty of debate about so-called dirty diesels with suggestions that diesel cars will be banned in city centres or at least charged to enter urban areas.
“Now the confusion amongst the nation’s eleven million diesel drivers has been compounded by the biggest automobile manufacturer on the planet.
“Diesel technology has certainly improved over recent years but the question is: by exactly how much?
“It is ironic that while diesel cars have been under scrutiny from politicians for air quality reasons the biggest blow to their reputation might have come from a company that makes millions of them.
“We know diesel cars don’t perform as well on the road as in the lab but this has been put down to the limitations of the test cycle rather than possible manipulation by manufacturers.
“The whole testing regime is currently being overhauled. This fiasco shows how urgently that overhaul is needed if trust is to be restored.
“For many of us buying a car is the biggest purchase we make. Yet when choosing which model to get can we now trust what we are being told? Things are complicated enough without having to second-guess how accurate the specification actually is.”
ENDS
Contact:
Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation
[email protected] | 020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN)
Notes to editors:
The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist.
The RAC Foundation is a registered charity, number 1002705.