Emission standards for diesel cars

4.1.2016

Question for written answer E-000025-16
to the Commission
Rule 130
Nadine Morano (PPE)

The car manufacturer Volkswagen fitted 11 million of its diesel-engine cars with software which enabled measurements of the polluting gases emitted by these cars to be falsified. This deliberate act enabled the vehicles to show much better results in tests than the values recorded in real conditions.

After this fraud came to light, Parliament adopted a resolution on the measurement of polluting gas emissions in the automotive sector. This balanced text aims to re-establish motorist's confidence in the use of diesel engines and calls for tests in real driving conditions, which had already been envisaged in regulations adopted in 2007 and implemented in 2013, to be extended to all pollutants and not just nitrous oxide.

While it is vital to continue to develop diesel engine systems, which are less polluting and more economical than petrol engines, the Volkswagen scandal is having a very negative impact on the European automotive industry and diesel engines in particular.

Against this background, does the Commission plan to report to Parliament on the results of tests on diesel vehicles in Europe?