Ferrari, Aston Martin slugged over high vehicle emissions

FERRARI and Aston Martin – both makers of ballsy, big-engined supercars – are facing financial hits in Europe after failing to meet strict emissions targets in 2015.

A European Environment Agency report flagging the fines, released this weekend, also calls on a number of other carmakers – namely BMW, Ford, Fiat and Opel – to speed up the process of reducing their showroom-wide emissions or face similar fines.

The warning aimed at Opel is significant for Australia: it is working on what will become the next fully imported Holden Commodore, based on an Insignia mid-size five-door sedan, that’s due here in 2018. Among its powertrain options for Australia, alongside 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol and diesel four-cylinder engines, is a 3.6-litre V6, although it is expected to have engine stop-start and cylinder deactivation technology aimed at reducing emissions as much as possible.

“Based on current testing rules in force, virtually all car and van manufacturers have met their specific CO2 emissions target in 2015,” the EEA said.

“The report confirms preliminary findings published earlier this year showing that the EU as a whole is well below its average emissions target for the same year.”

The report shows that new cars sold in the European Union in 2015 had average CO2 emissions of 119.5g/km, 8.0 percent below the 2015 target of 130g/km. In contrast, Australia’s 2015 vehicle emissions average was 184g/km, data from the National Transport Commission shows – more than 50 percent higher than the European average.

Diesel-engined vehicles were the strongest-selling models, accounting for 52 percent of the European market in 2015, the report shows.

Peugeot, Citroen, Renault and Toyota were singled out as having the lowest emissions averages across their new-car showrooms, while the introduction of new Ingenium petrol and diesel engines for Jaguar Land Rover saw their emissions figures improve the most, cut by an average 14.4g/km, the report says. Mercedes-Benz was not far behind with a 6.9g/km improvement.

However, it wasn’t all good news: “Two manufacturers, Aston Martin Lagonda and Ferrari, exceeded their specific emissions target by a small amount and therefore excess emission premiums will be imposed,” the EEA said. According to Automotive news Europe, Ferrari’s fine is expected to come in at about €410,000 ($A590,000), while Aston Martin faces a fine of less than €40,000.

The EEA has the power to fine carmakers who do not meet the showroom-wide emissions targets it sets for each year. By 2020-21, carmakers will have to reduce their average emissions to just 95g/km.

It has also proposed that the way fuel economy and emissions are tested should be changed from late next year.

“Member states report new vehicles’ CO2 emission levels, measured under standardised laboratory conditions, following the requirements of the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) test procedure,” it said.

“This cycle allows a comparison of emissions by manufacturers, but it does not necessarily represent real-world driving conditions.

“There is now wide recognition of the increasing divergence between real world CO2 emissions and those measured according to the NEDC test procedure.

“In order to address this increasing gap, the European Commission has proposed in June 2016 the implementation of a more robust test procedure, the World Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP),” the EEA said.

“This new test procedure will ensure more strict and representative test conditions. It is foreseen that the new WLTP test will be mandatory for all new vehicle types from September 2017 and for all new vehicles from September 2018.”

The Australian Government is in the process of setting future emissions targets after adopting Euro V emissions standards for both petrol, and most recently diesel, cars. However, Australia’s timelines for introducing more strict emissions targets severely lag those of Europe.

One of a number of issues the government’s discussion paper raises is that Australia’s luxury car tax is skewed towards fuel efficiency rather than emissions, favouring diesel-engined cars that produce more air pollution than petrol-engined ones. It has flagged this may need to change.