Emissions Analytics to launch new vehicle NOx rating scheme

A new NOx rating scheme is being launched by Emissions Analytics that will help fleets and company car drivers better understand vehicle emissions in real-world driving conditions.

The initiative aims to complement the forthcoming Real Driving Emissions (RDE) regulations for new vehicle certification.

From 2017, part of the type approval process for passenger cars in Europe will include a compulsory real-world test using a portable emissions measurement system (PEMS).

It will be the first time, official tests will be conducted outside the laboratory to measure NOx levels emitted in real driving against the regulated limits.

Emissions Analytics claims its NOx accreditation initiative will help ensure that vehicles remain compliant when driven normally on roads, and thereby contribute towards real air quality improvements. 

Furthermore, it says it will give fleets a rating that allows the comparison of the relative performance of different cars.

It will be formally launched early next year, with the publication of the first test results, covering vehicles launched this year. And, importantly Emissions Analytics says it will be separate from and independent of vehicle manufacturers’ certification tests.

To ensure the most effective and robust system, it is also bringing together a group of experts to provide advice and guidance, review the test and rating methodology, monitor the regulatory context, and provide input into the wider development of the scheme. 

This group of leading academic and industry figures includes: Professor Helen ApSimon, Air Pollution Studies, Imperial College London; Dr Adam Boeis, Department of Engineering, Cambridge University; John German, Senior Fellow, International Council on Clean Transportation; Dr Marc Stettler, Centre for Transport Studies, Imperial College London; and Professor Martin Williams, Air Quality Scientist, King’s College London.

Details of how the scheme will rate vehicles, and the wider process, will be published in due course.

Emissions Analytics is a specialist in real-world, on-road vehicle emissions measurement and analysis, covering the European Union and the United States. 

Operating since 2011, it has carried out PEMS tests on more than 1,000 model variants of passenger cars in addition to testing heavy goods vehicles, tractors, taxis, vans and buses.

It pioneered the process of showing real-world emissions performance across a wide cross-section of vehicles, to demonstrate differences between laboratory certification tests and typical in-use performance.

Emissions Analytics has launched fuel economy services in the UK with What Car? (True MPG) and in the USA with Motor Trend (Real MPG). And, it works with a wide range of commercial, academic and research organisations to assist in product development, evaluating policy and transport planning.