Volkswagen emissions scandal - Louise Ellman MP, Committee Chair, comments
23 September 2015
Following reports of the Volkswagen emissions scandal, Louise Ellman MP, Chair of the Transport Committee, comments.
Further to her previous statement, Louise Ellman MP has sent a letter to the Secretary of State for Transport, Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP.
Chair's comments:
Louise Ellman MP, Chair of the Transport Committee, said:
"I am very concerned about the potential implications for vehicles in the UK from the emerging revelations in the United States about Volkswagen and emissions testing. Action must be taken to give the public confidence in the testing regime in relation to emissions, safety, recyclability and other factors.
There are questions over whether the testing authorities commissioned by motor manufacturers are truly independent. Do the results found in test conditions truly reflect real life situations on the road?
It is vital that the UK Government, the authorities in Germany and in the European Commission take action to clarify the extent to which vehicles on UK and European roads are affected by the issues that have been identified in the United States. They must take steps to restore public confidence.
It should not take a crisis to make the authorities act. There have been anecdotal reports for some time that real world performance does not match data reported by manufacturers. This gap is now subject to research and earlier this month the Committee on Climate Change was told that the growth in this gap is partly due to increased exploitation of 'flexibilities' in laboratory testing by vehicle manufacturers.
I will ask the Transport Select Committee to pursue this issue with Government and other relevant authorities to ensure that the public can trust the information generated by the motor vehicle testing system."
Further information
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