VDA President comments on Brussels’ RDE decision
The German automotive industry supports the introduction of Real Driving Emissions (RDE) tests. Reducing pollutant emissions under real driving conditions will make a considerable contribution to improving air quality. Furthermore, it can reduce differences between the emission values determined in the testing cycle and those measured “on the road.” The German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) also supports the new WLTP testing cycle that is set to replace the existing measuring procedure (NEDC). Both RDE and WLTP will bring greater clarity, transparency and security for customers.
Matthias Wissmann, President of the VDA, stressed: “We back the planned date for introducing the RDE regulation in 2017. However, today’s decision by the EU Member States in the Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles (TCMV) in Brussels is extremely ambitious. It presents huge technical and economic challenges for automotive manufacturers and suppliers. It is regrettable and incomprehensible that the obligatory Impact Assessment has not taken place in advance. This means that the effects of these planned measures on the competitiveness of the automotive industry in Europe have not been assessed. In addition, doubts about the figures and the calculations on which the Commission proposal is based have not been eliminated.”
Wissmann pointed out that no value for consumption and pollutant emissions during real driving conditions could be determined. Both of these parameters, he said, depended on a large number of factors, e.g. the weather, the individual driving style and the traffic conditions: “Every journey undertaken is different, even in the same model on the same route. It is therefore important that the new measuring procedure should realistically reflect this whole range. The regulation must be worded to define clear measuring conditions that allow comparison and provide legal security,” Wissmann stated.
“Diesels are the most efficient combustion engines, requiring up to 25 percent less fuel than gasoline models, and their CO2 output is up to 15 percent lower. If Brussels forces partial substitution of diesels with gasoline-powered passenger cars, this will automatically push up the CO2 emissions of newly registered cars in the EU,” the VDA president emphasized, adding that this could not be the intention of a European policy for action on climate.
