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In Service Exhaust Emissions Research
EU Directive 98/69EC (amended 70/220 EC Exhaust Emissions) introduced measures that require that the emissions of regulated pollutants from passenger cars do not exceed specified limits even after a reasonable period of use. Whilst the Directive articulated the political requirement the commission was charged with bringing forward further proposals concerning the mechanisms for ensuring compliance.
The Commission chaired a number of meetings during 2001/2002 at which proposals that reflected the experience from national programmes within certain Member States were discussed. Concerns were raised with respect to the degree of risk to which manufacturers would be exposed if these national measures were applied, with remedial action provisions, throughout the community. In a spirit of compromise it was agreed to introduce interim measures that would allow more Member States to gain experience of the Procedure - these measures were introduced by Directive 2002/80/EC.
In 2004, VCA were first commissioned by the Department for Transport to undertake some research into the exhaust emissions performance of vehicles in service. The resulting report was supplied to the European Commission and provides a critical review of the interim procedures. Details from the report can be viewed by clicking on the links below. Note that the 2006 research program is currently underway (December 2006).
