Oz Government’s Vehicle-Emissions Data Challenged

Australia’s first on-road vehicle-emissions test program finds vehicles are using up to 60% more fuel than in the laboratory – 25% higher on average – casting serious doubts on the government’s mandated fuel-consumption-label data obtained from lab testing.

Commissioned by the Australian Automobile Assn. in the wake of the Volkswagen emissions-cheating scandal, 17 of a planned 30 vehicles have been tested on Australian roads and the results also show on-road noxious-gas emissions are up to eight times the legal limit.

The AAA says the tests raise doubts over government claims motorists will save on fuel costs as a result of proposals to introduce tougher vehicle-emissions standards.

The new vehicle-emissions standard in Australia for both gasoline and diesel engines is Euro 5, but the government is considering adopting more-stringent Euro 6 emissions and carbon-dioxide standards, in addition to reviewing the country’s fuel-quality standards.

The Australian market has a number of vehicles with engine configurations not sold in Europe, as well as vehicles that are not sold in Europe at all. The AAA says this may result in a situation where vehicles are sold in Australia that have not been subjected to the regulatory requirements of real-driving-emissions testing.

AAA CEO Michael Bradley says the test results are bad news for Australian consumers looking for good information on which to base their car-buying decisions.

“They also place a huge question mark over the fuel and cost savings the government is offering Australians under its proposals to introduce tougher vehicle-emissions restrictions,” Bradley says in a statement.

“Our test results are a warning to Australians to take the government’s promises of fuel and cost savings with a grain of salt, and expect those savings to be significantly less than what’s promised.”

Bradley says AAA’s on-road testing is further evidence the assumptions on which the government is basing its vehicle-emissions reductions proposals are flawed, and may end up costing Australians more than necessary while delivering less to the environment than promised.

“The AAA does not shy away from the fact that Australian motorists must make a fair contribution to improving Australia’s environmental performance,” he says. “But emissions policy must deliver for the environment at the least cost to motorists and the economy.”

The AAA and Australia’s motoring clubs again are demanding the government update its modeling, seek further public consultation and introduce real-world emissions testing for new vehicles in the country.

The testing was conducted by Abmarc, an Australian specialty-engineering testing company, on 17 different car and light-commercial-vehicle configurations. The testing was conducted over several months’ time on Melbourne roads with each vehicle tested twice, with one cold start and one warm start.

“Real-world measurement of emissions and fuel consumption enables a vehicle to be tested in the same road and environmental conditions it will be subjected to during normal operation,” Abmarc’s report says.

“This testing reduces the ability of manufacturers to implement ‘defeat devices’ and limits the use of emissions-reduction technologies that are more effective on the test-drive cycle than in real-world use.”

The 30 vehicles being tested cover a range of manufacturers, vehicle segments and fuel types and include low-volume, new-market entries and models not sold in Europe or the U.S.

All vehicles were chosen based on whether the current model is available in Australia, the vehicle tested has been driven at least 1,200 miles (2,000 km) but no more than 52,800 miles (85,000 km) and the actual test vehicle is a ’14-year model or newer. Vehicles tested were taken from the general service fleet.

Thus far 16 test vehicles have been fully tested. One vehicle was tested in gasoline and liquid-propane-gas configurations, meaning 17 test sequences have been conducted.

The tests were conducted by driving each vehicle around a compliant route based in Melbourne. The route consisted of urban, extra-urban and freeway driving, with about a third of the test being driven in each segment.

Each real-world test is driven in normal traffic conditions and accumulates more than seven times the equivalent distance of what is driven during the laboratory test known as the New European Driving Cycle.