VW Tiguan gets air quality approval while others flounder

Volkswagen is the only manufacturer to achieve an A rating with a diesel vehicle in the additions to the EQUA Air Quality Index in August.

Meanwhile, some new diesel vehicles that entered in the Index this month are still emitting up to 12 times more NOx on the road as is allowed in official Euro-6 tests.

More than 20 new cars were added to the EQUA Air Quality Index in August, including models from a range of manufacturers including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and Renault.

The new Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 diesel becomes the fifth VW model and eighth Volkswagen Group vehicle to be awarded an A rating since the EQUA Index was launched earlier this year. This means that its real-world NOx emissions are less than or equal to the Euro-6 limit recorded in the laboratory.

In contrast, two new Renault models, the Espace 1.6 diesel and Megane 1.5 diesel, were both rated at the lowest, H grade, meaning that they emit more than 12 times as much NOx on the road as official tests suggest. Also falling short was Hyundai, with the i40 1.7 diesel and Santa Fe 2.2 diesel both emitting up to eight times the Euro-6 NOx limit on the road, achieving an F-grade.

Nick Molden, CEO and founder of Emissions Analytics, said: “We continue to see a number of encouraging results from vehicle manufacturers such as Volkswagen, which show that a number of new diesel engines are as clean on the road as they are under official tests. However, there are still some new cars that are performing very differently in the real world to the laboratory.”

With ratings openly published and freely available to all, including vehicle manufacturers and consumers, the EQUA Index is an ongoing programme to provide an easy to understand sticker clearly showing each car’s performance.

Developed by Emissions Analytics, the EQUA Index allows manufacturers to demonstrate their vehicles’ clean credentials, and provide data to policymakers on progress in the drive to improve air quality.

Intended to complement the forthcoming Real Driving Emissions regulations for new vehicle certification, the EQUA Air Quality Index will help monitor vehicle performance when driven normally on roads, and the effectiveness of the new regulations.

Latest additions to EQUA Air Quality Index

Euro-6 diesel                                                 

Euro-6 petrol