Report finds many cars not as fuel efficient as claimed
28/09/2015
Motorists are being tricked into buying cars that claim to be more fuel efficient than they really are, according to lobby group Transport & Environment.
A new report claims that European car markets are not testing their products properly on fuel performance and C02 emissions. Research found a 40% gap in the amount of petrol and Co2 released in the lab tests than in real life. This means drivers end up spending an extra £331 a year more than expected on fuel.
The report claims that “car makers are cheating their own customers”. The report comes after car company Volkswagen admitted cheating emission tests for their diesel cars in the US, but it now seems that the industry's problems extend beyond diesel cars and a single car manufacturer.
Greg Archer, Transport & Environment's vehicle programme manager said:
"There is a need for a new [emissions] test but what we're also seeing here is a distortion of the current system.
"The independent agencies [in Europe] that oversee the tests are paid for by the car industry themselves. In the US, we have an independent regulator, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) that ensures they're done rigorously.
"The Volkswagen scandal was just the tip of the iceberg and what lies beneath is widespread abuse by carmakers of testing rules enabling cars to swallow more than 50% more fuel than is claimed."
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