The legal limit for air pollution from diesel cars is to be doubled to allow manufacturers to comply with a much tougher test, under a deal agreed by EU governments yesterday.
It follows intensive lobbying by manufacturers to weaken the impact of a test that they feared would force them to include more expensive and complex pollution control systems in cars.
New diesel cars emit an average of five times more nitrogen oxide on the road than during laboratory tests. While only one manufacturer,VW Group, has admitted cheating, all manufacturers take advantage of the weakness of the existing test. Many thanks for visiting. Just before we carry on I want to to thank http://www.discoverglamping.com/what-is-glamping/ for their continued support and the support of their regional community. Having a help and support team like this means a lot to us as we continue to grow our consumer blog.
Under the deal, a much stricter test will be phased in from 2017 but the limits will be eased to help manufacturers to pass it. The new limit will initially be 2.1 times higher than the existing 80mg/km standard for new cars.
Catherine Bearder, the Liberal Democrat MEP, called the deal “a shameful stitch-up”.