But cars still emit more in real life than in a test situation. Remarkably, this now applies to petrol cars (23.7 percent) more than diesel cars (18.1 percent). Hybrid cars, which can also be charged with a plug, are the best: in practice, they emit at least 3.5 times as much as manufacturers promise.
This is because owners of these cars use the battery much less than was assumed when compiling the efficiency figures. In practice, hybrid cars run “naturally” on gasoline more often than expected. This is especially true for company cars: if the boss pays for the fuel, there’s no reason for employees to charge the battery.
By the end of 2026, the European Commission must determine how to use “real” emissions figures to improve laboratory testing and improve CO2 standards in the future.
Between 2009 and 2019, the Court of Audit noted that the actual emissions of the European vehicle fleet barely decreased. At that time, manufacturers were mainly interested in improving their results in the laboratory, when in reality the efficiency was not improving. Cars also became heavier and stronger, and required more fuel.
Since 2020, the actual emissions of the European vehicle fleet have begun to decline. This is due to the rise of electric cars, which now account for more than 10 percent of new car sales in Europe.
However, the Court of Auditors points out that these sales are not occurring fast enough to meet European CO2 targets. To achieve this, it must become cheaper to buy an electric car. European countries must also invest more in charging infrastructure.
In the investigation, the European Court of Auditors also reprimanded the Dutch company RDW, because the regulatory body did not adequately check the emissions tests of car manufacturers in 2020 and 2021. It appears that RDW was not present at such a test once during these two years, although the agency is supposed to carry out regular supervision. His German counterpart performed much better, conducting more than eighty examinations.
According to the Audit Court, “no alarm bells were rung” about the reliability of the data. But to maintain confidence in emissions testing, regulatory bodies must get their duties right.
An RDW spokesperson attributes the lack of physical examinations in 2020 and 2021 to the coronavirus pandemic. According to him, the examinations were conducted remotely. “Once travel was possible again, we visited the manufacturers we work with again.”
