An independent emissions study in Europe has revealed that Volkswagen’s new diesel engines are the cleanest on the market.
Motoring reports that a Transport & Environment study found the firm’s new Euro 6-compliant diesel engines outperformed all other engines tested. That comes despite the fact that VW’s engines still emitted double the 80mg/km of NOx emissions which Euro 6 stipulates is the maximum permitted figure.
The study discovered that two-thirds of all Euro 6 diesel vehicles on European roads emit at least three times more NOx than permitted during real-world conditions.
After Volkswagen, the next three cleanest diesel brands were Seat, Skoda and Audi. These VW Group brands were then followed up by BMW, Mini and Mazda.
Remarkably, some automakers EU6 diesels were found to emit more than 10 times the legal limit. More specifically, those from Fiat and Suzuki emit 15 times the permitted amount while those from Renault and Nissan spew out 14 times the limit. Elsewhere in the industry, Opel was 10 times above the limit, Hyundai nearly eight times higher than allowed and Mercedes-Benz six times.
Those behind the study are keen to point out that VW’s performance doesn’t mean it’s learnt its lesson from dieselgate.
According to Transport and Environment’s clean vehicle director Greg Archer,” This cannot be claimed as evidence of the Volkswagen Group learning its lesson; the Group brought its Euro 6 cars to market ahead of the Dieselgate scandal being exposed. The Volkswagen Group’s Dieselgate engines were mostly of the EU5 generation.”
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