Vauxhall to release 'real' emission data in 2016 – a year before they have to

‘New European Driving Cycle’ is being replaced in 2017 after being deeply discredited by the VW emissions scandal

The first vehicle to have its data released in this way will be the new Vauxhall Astra

In 2017 a new emissions test will come into force, but Vauxhall, and its parent company Opel, have promised to start publishing its results a year early.

At the moment the current ‘New European Driving Cycle’ (NEDC) is viewed as out of date and deeply discredited, largely due to the Volkswagen emissions scandal. It will be replaced in 2017 by the ‘World Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure’, or WLTP.

The WLTP much more closely replicates real driving conditions, and the sort of driving that normal drivers do, so the results for fuel consumption and CO2 emissions should be a lot closer to reality rather than what happens in a laboratory.

However, Vauxhall and Opel have said that they will start to release the testing data in 2016, a year before they have to. The first vehicle to have its data released in this way will be the new Vauxhall Astra.

Opel boss Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann said: “The events and discussions in the last weeks and months have shown that there is a tremendous focus on the automotive industry and it is now time to act based on the learnings.

“It is obvious to me that the diesel discussion is a turning point. The world is not as it was before. We cannot ignore this and it is in the hands of the automotive industry to change the perception of the new reality.”