Volkswagen Successfully Lobbies to Remove Key Parts of European Auto Emissions Tests

Volkswagen's lobbying efforts have paid off, with two key provisions removed from Europe's new auto emissions tests. The automaker, which owns Porsche, Lamborghini, and Audi, successfully lobbied to omit a provision that would measure significant pollution released when an engine is started but hasn't yet warmed up. The company also argued against requiring special high-speed tests for cars designed to be driven fast.

Automakers have long had a strong hand in negotiating Europe's auto regulations, and Volkswagen has played a significant role in shaping automotive testing in the region. The company has been at the center of the diesel emissions scandal, with its executives admitting to cheating on traditional lab tests by installing special software in some 11 million diesel vehicles. The scandal has led to scrutiny and criticism of the loopholes in Europe's regulations, particularly with regards to measuring emissions in real-world driving conditions.

Key Takeaways:

Volkswagen successfully lobbied to remove two key provisions from Europe's new auto emissions tests, including a provision to measure significant pollution released when an engine is started but hasn't yet warmed up.
The automaker argued against requiring special high-speed tests for cars designed to be driven fast.
Volkswagen has had a strong hand in negotiating Europe's auto regulations, and the company has been at the center of the diesel emissions scandal.
The scandal has led to scrutiny and criticism of the loopholes in Europe's regulations, particularly with regards to measuring emissions in real-world driving conditions.
The European Commission still intends to develop a plan to measure cold starts in future addendums to the regulation, which is scheduled to take effect in 2017.
The new road tests, as currently conceived, limit the highest speed at which testing can occur to about 91 miles per hour, with a cushion that allows for speeds of up to 100 miles per hour no more than 3 percent of the time.
Regulators in the United States and Canada recently began their own road tests of diesel car emissions, though the American tests are focused solely on catching automakers cheating on lab tests.
Volkswagen has played a major role in shaping automotive testing in Europe, and the company's executives took the lead in helping shape a second test that is to debut in 2017.
The future of the road tests is in some doubt, with many members of the European Parliament opposing a recent move by the European Commission to change the road tests in a concession to the industry.
If rejected, the commission will have to redraft the rules.

Statistics:

11 million: the number of diesel vehicles on which Volkswagen installed special software to cheat on lab tests
2010: the year in which an executive at Audi laid out a template for the new tests
2017: the year in which the new auto emissions tests are scheduled to take effect
91 miles per hour: the highest speed at which the new road tests will be conducted
3 percent: the maximum amount of time during which speeds of up to 100 miles per hour will be allowed
100 miles per hour: the maximum speed at which the new road tests will allow cars to be driven
11: the number of car manufacturers that were targeted in a study on the feasibility of a new emissions test
10: the number of Committee for the Abatement of Motor Emissions (CAME) members who voted against the new emissions test

Sources:

Corporate Europe Observatory, a Brussels-based advocacy group
European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, a trade group
Volkswagen, statement from Fred Bèrbock, spokesman
Cara McLaughlin, spokesperson for the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association
Lucia Caudet, spokeswoman for the European Commission
John German, former official at the Environmental Protection Agency and senior fellow at the International Council on Clean Transportation
Bas Eickhout, Dutch lawmaker and member of the European Parliament's environment committee
Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy, member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and member of the European Parliament's environment committee.