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Climate Action
News article5 March 2021Directorate-General for Climate Action

Collecting real-world data on the CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of new cars and vans

The real-world fuel and energy consumption of new cars and vans will be collected as of 2021 under a new Implementing Regulation adopted by the Commission yesterday. This data will make it possible to monitor the gap between type approval and actual.

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The real-world fuel and energy consumption of new cars and vans will be collected as of 2021 under a new Implementing Regulation adopted by the Commission yesterday. This data will make it possible to monitor the gap between type approval and actual CO2 emissions, and will provide a better understanding of how vehicles perform under real-world driving conditions.

All new cars placed on the EU market in 2021 will be equipped with an on-board measurement device that records the fuel or energy consumed by a vehicle when in use.

The Implementing Regulation adopted yesterday provides for the collection of that data by manufacturers when vehicles are brought in for repairs or servicing, and by Member States when vehicles undergo periodic technical inspections. The first data will be collected from new vehicles sold in 2021 and be reported to the European Environment Agency (EEA) as of April 2022.

Vehicle owners have the option to stop the data from being collected. Manufacturers, Member States as well as the Commission and the EEA will have to ensure that the data collection and reporting is consistent with the rules of the general data protection Regulation (GDPR).

The data will be used to monitor the gap between CO2 emissions determined at type approval by the relevant national authority before the vehicle is placed on the market, and a vehicle’s real world CO2 emissions to ensure that the gap does not grow over time. Measuring this gap will allow consumers to better understand how vehicles perform under real-world conditions, and will help ensure that CO2 emission reduction targets remain effective.

Under the old type approval procedure – the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) – the gap between type approval and real world emissions grew in the end to almost 40%. This was one of the reasons for the replacement of that procedure by the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) in 2017, and the introduction of on-board fuel consumption measurement devices. The collection of real-world data is the first implementing measure adopted under the CO2 emissions standards that entered into force on 1 January 2020.

As of December 2022, the Commission will publish the real world data every year in an aggregated format, with the aim of showing the difference between the average type approval and real world CO2 emissions for each manufacturer’s fleet of new vehicles.

 

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Publication date
5 March 2021
Author
Directorate-General for Climate Action