Skip to main content

EU passes testing rules to avoid ‘Dieselgate’ repeat

The European Parliament has rubber-stamped new rules following the Volkswagen emissions scandal which seek in part to increase the quality of testing. The idea of the reforms for the type approval process is to ensure that vehicles act on the road in the way that they have been tested in laboratory conditions. The agreement, which has been two years in the making, requires national market surveillance authorities to check 1 in 40,000 vehicles registered in the country the previous year, with at least 20% o
April 24, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
The European Parliament has rubber-stamped new rules following the 994 Volkswagen emissions scandal which seek in part to increase the quality of testing. The idea of the reforms for the type approval process is to ensure that vehicles act on the road in the way that they have been tested in laboratory conditions.


The agreement, which has been two years in the making, requires national market surveillance authorities to check 1 in 40,000 vehicles registered in the country the previous year, with at least 20% of tests to be emissions-related. 1816 European Union member states will also have to provide sufficient funds for market surveillance activities and to finance type-approval activities from fees levied on manufacturers.

The 1690 European Commission (EC) will be able to carry out assessments of the procedures put in place by type-approval authorities in member states.

Transport group FIA says greater market surveillance and additional oversight by the EC will act as new checks in the system – although it points out that the revised process “fails to end the direct financial link between testers and vehicle manufacturers”.

However, it believes there will be additional transparency. “European consumers have been let down by the system that was meant to deliver cars that performed as promised in the real world,” says 8054 FIA Region I (Europe, Middle East and Africa) director general, Laurianne Krid. “The new rules should increase checks of vehicles already on the market, thus helping to restore consumer trust and confidence.”

She added: “We now need to see the Commission come forward with a dedicated legislative proposal to ensure cyber security, data protection and fair competition with accessing vehicle data.”

Related Content

  • July 21, 2014
    EU urged to fast-track revised cross-border enforcement law
    TISPOL and its road safety partners across Europe are urging the EU to fast-track the adoption of a modified law on cross-border enforcement of traffic offences such as speeding. The modified rules, published by the European Commission, come in response to a European Court of Justice ruling in May that said the existing law, which came into force in November last year, had been adopted on an incorrect legal basis. The ECJ has said the current rules could remain in effect until May 2015 while new legisla
  • October 7, 2013
    ANPR shockwaves emanate from Royston ruling
    Colin Sowman looks at how a ruling regarding ANPR cameras in a small English town could have wide-reaching implications. Superficially it was an easy decision: the local council and traders wanted, and were prepared to fund, automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras installed to deter crime in Royston, a small town (population 17,000) in rural England.
  • September 14, 2022
    OPINION: ITS must be included in EU Green Deal
    To reach the objectives of the European Green Deal, a classification system has been developed to identify environmentally-sustainable activities. However, Richard Lax of Kapsch TrafficCom is worried that it might not have the intended effect – and ITS could lose out as a result…
  • February 27, 2019
    EP and council negotiators agree to upgrade road infrastructure rules
    The European Parliament and Council Romanian Presidency negotiators have agreed to strengthen the road infrastructure management rules to help improve road safety in the European Union. The rules require road safety audits to be carried out during the design and construction of infrastructure projects and when roads are in use. The agreed rules extend these requirements beyond the Trans-European Transport Network roads to motorways and primary roads. Rapporteur Daniela Aiuto, member of the Europe of