Europe rejects request for delay on emissions norm

The European Commission has rejected a request to delay the implementation of the new norm for vehicle emissions, the so-called RDE (Real Driving Emissions). The request had been made last week by ACEA, the association of European car manufacturers.  

The RDE norms have not all been clarified yet, especially concerning emissions of particulates. Since this clarification might not happen until a few months before September 2017, when the rules will enter into force, ACEA says that leaves them too little time to adapt their production units to the new requirements. 

But the EC now says that there is “no time to lose. The problem of air pollution is well known, as is the EC's determination to put into place stricter emissions tests. We are often criticised for being too slow, and now we are accused of being too fast”.

ACEA's request was likely to fall on deaf ears, seeing that tests following the Dieselgate scandal have revealed that few manufacturers are compliant with the Euro emissions requirements. 

Image: Zakysant, CC BY-SA 3.0