Van buyers looking to swerve the most-polluting vehicles on their next trip to the local dealer will be able to enlist the help of a new online tool from this autumn.
A new website from mayor of London Sadiq Khan will give most new light commercial vehicle models and nearly all new cars a score based on the real-world emissions they produce on the capital’s roads, and as well as detailing those emissions results the site will also provide the vehicles’ real-world fuel economy.
A spokesman for the mayor told What Van? that vehicles would be tested in a range of different conditions, and that the results would also be relevant for drivers living outside of London.
Khan said the online clean vehicle checker will help to restore public confidence following the ‘Dieselgate’ scandal and he claimed it will stop purchasers from relying on “unrealistic” official test results.
He added that once up and running, the tool would provide a free “health check” for businesses so they can understand how their fleets perform and see where improvements could be made in the future in terms of emissions. The mayor added that the Greater London Authority Group – the administrative body for the capital – would “lead by example” and only buy or lease the cleanest vehicles from the list.
The independent vehicle tests will be jointly carried out by Emissions Analytics – a leader in on-road emissions testing and which already publishes real-world data on its website – and the International Council of Clean Transportation, which revealed VW had used defeat devices to pass the official emissions tests.
This is the latest move by Khan to tackle emissions in London, with the mayor promising to roll-out the Ultra-Low Emission Zone a year earlier than planned – in 2019 – while from October he is bringing in a daily £10 Congestion Charge surcharge for the most-polluting vehicles
Speaking about the new website, Khan said: “It will provide Londoners with an honest, accurate and independent evaluation of the emissions of most new vans and cars on our roads. By having ‘on-the-road’ testing I believe we will help Londoners make an informed choice and incentivise manufacturers to build cleaner vehicles sooner.”
