New cars and vans will receive an alphabetical rating between A and H
Under a new initiative organised by independent vehicle testing company Emissions Analytics, and approved by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, cars are to be given a new eco rating like those found on washing machines and boilers.
The plans were revealed by the Mayor of London yesterday, when he announced the initiative was being trialled in London and Paris, but would be extended to other parts of the UK and throughout the world if the pilot scheme proved a success.
Cars to be given eco rating like those found on white goods
Cars will be given an alphabetical rating between A (best) and H (worst) using the rating system of Emissions Analytics, the Equa AQ Index. The information will be available to the general public by accessing an online ‘cleaner vehicle checker’.
Unlike the emissions information provided by vehicle manufacturers themselves, who use data collected in laboratory tests, Emissions Analytics will be working with the International Council of Clean Transportation (ICCT) to provide emissions data gathered from ‘real-world’ tests.
The idea of the initiative is to help reduce air pollution throughout the world’s major cities and thus to reduce the number of premature deaths that are linked to vehicle emissions. According to some experts, around 40,000 deaths per year are caused by vehicle pollutants.
Speaking about the new scheme, the Mayor of London said: “The emissions scoring tool will test new cars on real life roads to help purchasers. Motorists will be able to identify and avoid buying the dirtiest diesel and most polluting petrol cars and vans.”
The new online cleaner vehicle checker will provide emissions data for most new petrol and diesel cars and vans based on London’s roads. Emissions Analytics and ICCT will assess the level of nitrous oxides and carbon dioxide pollutants being emitted by each individual vehicle.
According to the Aqua AQ Index, the most eco-friendly diesel vehicle currently available on the market is the Audi A5 2.0 litre 161bhp manual, which received a top rating of A.
Meanwhile, the lowest-rated diesel vehicle on the Aqua AQ Index is the automatic Nissan Qashqai 1.6 litre 128bhp, which was given an embarrassing H rating.
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