EU scales back on emission tests

The European Union’s industrial policy chief scaled back proposed tougher tests on car pollution at the insistence of EU governments concerned about potential cost increases for car makers, highlighting the industry’s political clout even after Volkswagen’s deception.

Elzbieta Bienkowska, the European commissioner for industrial policy, diluted a proposal linked to an EU-wide plan to start gauging emissions of smog-causing nitrogen oxides under real driving conditions in September 2017. The planned testing overhaul stems from evidence that discharges on the road are 400% to 500% higher than in laboratories.

Ms Bienkowska agreed to let real-world NOx emissions exceed permissible discharges by as much as 110% for a further 27 months until January 2020, abandoning an earlier proposal for a maximum 60% overshoot until autumn 2019 after nations including Germany demanded more leeway.