EU auditors lament persistent gap in lab and real-world emissions data

The disparity between new vehicles’ performance in manufacturers’ tests and their real-world emissions is limiting the EU’s ability to meet emissions reduction targets, says a European Court of Auditors report

Since the 2015 Dieselgate scandal, which exposed systemic cheating of emissions tests by carmakers, the EU has overhauled the way cars are tested. But despite changes, testing is still not showing real-world emissions, and carbon emissions from passenger cars across the EU have risen by 15 per cent compared with 1990 levels, the European Court of Auditors has found.