Mercedes named top cheater on Europe's fuel economy test

[Haltech]

Filed under: MPG, Legislation and Policy, Europe/EU



It's expected that Mercedes, like any automaker, aspires to be number one. But we've found a case where being at the top of the list is unlikely to be something of which Daimler is going to boast. That's because we're talking about the automaker most likely to cheat the European fuel economy tests.

According to Transport And Environment, Mercedes is simply the worst when it comes to finding every little way to manipulate the tests, which then produce "official fuel economy figures in the labs that cannot be replicated in the real world." Of course, T&E itself calls the test "obsolete," so it seems like there's enough blame to be spread around for the 31-percent gap (on average) between real-world fuel economy and what the automakers claim their cars get on the open road. That costs a typical driver in Europe an extra 500 euros ($620) per year in fuel costs they wouldn't have had to pay if the advertised numbers were accurate.

How do automakers cheat? Well, they start with "specially prepared prototype vehicles" and then pay the testing services to get the results optimized. T&E claims that "modern engine management systems are even able to detect when a test is being carried out to deliver better fuel-efficiency results - a technique known as 'cycle beating' that was first used to cheat tests for air pollution." The automakers also use tricks like applying tape to cracks around doors and overinflating tires. We've asked Mercedes for a comment on all of this, but have yet to get a response.

Thankfully, future numbers could be more realistic. The World Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) should be in place by 2017, if all of the EU countries agree. Of course, says T&E, the automakers are pushing to have the implementation delayed to 2022. You can read more below.Continue reading Mercedes named top cheater on Europe's fuel economy test

Mercedes named top cheater on Europe's fuel economy test originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 09 Nov 2014 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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