EU auditors say real CO2 emissions from most cars have not fallen

Real CO2 emissions from most passengers cars on EU roads are the same as 12 years ago despite reduction targets set in 2010 for newly registered vehicles, putting in jeopardy Europe's green agenda, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the ECA said that, in the 2010s, car manufacturers exploited loopholes in test requirements to obtain reduced emissions in the laboratory, adding the gap with real emissions - that is to say when the vehicles are actually driving on the road - was "enormous".

As a result and following the "Dieselgate" scandal - when Volkswagen admitted in 2015 it had fitted 11 million cars worldwide with software that cheated diesel emissions tests - a new laboratory test cycle, reflecting actual driving conditions better, became mandatory in September 2017.

"This effectively narrowed (but did not eliminate) the...