AIR Index is a standardised motor vehicle emissions ranking system introduced in February 2019 by Allow Independent Road-testing (AIR). The objective of the system is to encourage the use of independent and meaningful motor vehicle NOx emissions tests to robustly inform consumers and policymakers of the real-world impact motor vehicles will have on urban air quality.
AIR, the United Kingdom-based group behind the index, is an alliance of scientists, academics and economists from public and private organisations and is a not-for-profit organisation. [1] [2] [3] The alliance aims to provide independent and rigorous data that will help consumers and policymakers reduce the negative impact that motor vehicles have on urban air quality. [2] Nick Molden, one of the co-founders of AIR, said: "The transparent publication of independent, on-road emissions testing results is the most efficient way to improve air quality." [2] Another co-founder Massimo Fedeli said: "It gives easy to understand, at-a-glance information on actual vehicle emissions in towns and cities." [4] The ambition for the founders of AIR is that their AIR Index scheme will have a similar impact on real-world vehicle emissions as the Euro NCAP scheme has on real-world vehicle safety. [4]
The AIR Index gives individual vehicle models an A, B, C, D or E rating, and correspondingly colour-coded as green, yellow-green, yellow, amber or red (in a similar way to the European Union energy label system used for domestic appliances). [5] [3] The rankings are based on the nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions of the vehicle, independently measured in a standardised way, and on at least two independently sourced vehicles, with a portable emissions measurement system (PEMS) in real-world urban driving situations. [5] [4] [3]
The rating is based on the number of milligrams per kilometre (mg/km) of NOx emitted as follows: A (green) = 0-80, B (yellow-green) = 80-168, C (yellow) = 168-270, D (amber) = 270-600 and E (red) = 600 and above. [5]
The ratings of six Euro 6 compliant cars were published at the time the AIR Index scheme was launched. [4]
Model | Year | Fuel | AIR Index rating |
---|---|---|---|
Land Rover Discovery 3.0 TD6 | 2018 | Diesel | A |
Nissan Qashqai 1.2 DiG-T | 2017 | Petrol | B |
Mini Cooper SD | 2015 | Diesel | C |
Dacia Duster 1.5 dCi | 2018 | Diesel | D |
Ford Focus 1.5 TDCi | 2017 | Diesel | D |
Renault Clio 1.5 dCi | 2017 | Diesel | E |
The leader of the West Virginia University team that discovered some of the early evidence of the Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal, Dan Carder, director of their Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines and Emissions, said: "If the AIR Index had been implemented 15 years ago, Dieselgate would likely not have happened." [5]
In March 2019, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) became the first European car producer to submit new cars from its marques for testing. [6]
Model | Year | Fuel | NOx measured (mg/km) | AIR Index rating |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jaguar E-Pace HSE 2.0I 180hp | 2019 | Diesel | 14 | A |
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque TD4 2.0I 180hp | 2019 | Diesel | 17 | A |
Land Rover Discovery 3.0 TD6 HSE | 2018 | Diesel | 33 | A |
Land Rover Discovery Sport 2.0I 180hp | 2019 | Diesel | 34 | A |
Groupe Renault is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured trucks, tractors, tanks, buses/coaches, aircraft and aircraft engines and autorail vehicles.
The Honda Insight is a hybrid electric vehicle that is manufactured and marketed by Honda. Its first generation was a two-door, two passenger liftback (1999–2006) and in its second generation was a four-door, five passenger liftback (2009–2014). In its third generation, it became a four-door sedan (2019–present). It was Honda's first model with Integrated Motor Assist system and the most fuel efficient gasoline-powered car available in the U.S. without plug-in capability — for the length of its production run.
Vehicle emissions control is the study of reducing the emissions produced by motor vehicles, especially internal combustion engines.
Emission standards are the legal requirements governing air pollutants released into the atmosphere. Emission standards set quantitative limits on the permissible amount of specific air pollutants that may be released from specific sources over specific timeframes. They are generally designed to achieve air quality standards and to protect human life. Different regions and countries have different standards for vehicle emissions.
Exhaust gas or flue gas is emitted as a result of the combustion of fuels such as natural gas, gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, fuel oil, biodiesel blends, or coal. According to the type of engine, it is discharged into the atmosphere through an exhaust pipe, flue gas stack, or propelling nozzle. It often disperses downwind in a pattern called an exhaust plume.
On-board diagnostics (OBD) is an automotive term referring to a vehicle's self-diagnostic and reporting capability. OBD systems give the vehicle owner or repair technician access to the status of the various vehicle sub-systems. The amount of diagnostic information available via OBD has varied widely since its introduction in the early 1980s versions of on-board vehicle computers. Early versions of OBD would simply illuminate a malfunction indicator light or "idiot light" if a problem was detected but would not provide any information as to the nature of the problem. Modern OBD implementations use a standardized digital communications port to provide real-time data in addition to a standardized series of diagnostic trouble codes, or DTCs, which allow a person to rapidly identify and remedy malfunctions within the vehicle.
The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for exhaust emissions of new vehicles sold in the European Union and EEA member states and the UK. The standards are defined in a series of European Union directives staging the progressive introduction of increasingly stringent standards. Details of Euro 7, the final standard, will be announced in 2022 and probably come into force in 2025. The details of Euro 7 are likely to be influenced by European Green Deal targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
The fuel economy of an automobile relates distance traveled by a vehicle and the amount of fuel consumed. Consumption can be expressed in terms of volume of fuel to travel a distance, or the distance traveled per unit volume of fuel consumed. Since fuel consumption of vehicles is a significant factor in air pollution, and since importation of motor fuel can be a large part of a nation's foreign trade, many countries impose requirements for fuel economy. Different methods are used to approximate the actual performance of the vehicle. The energy in fuel is required to overcome various losses encountered while propelling the vehicle, and in providing power to vehicle systems such as ignition or air conditioning. Various strategies can be employed to reduce losses at each of the conversions between the chemical energy in the fuel and the kinetic energy of the vehicle. Driver behavior can affect fuel economy; maneuvers such as sudden acceleration and heavy braking waste energy.
The Chevrolet Volt was a plug-in hybrid manufactured by General Motors, also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand, Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the Vauxhall Ampera in the United Kingdom and as the Opel Ampera in the remainder of Europe. Volt production ended in February 2019.
A portable emissions measurement system (PEMS) is a vehicle emissions testing device that is small and light enough to be carried inside or moved with a motor vehicle that is being driven during testing, rather than on the stationary rollers of a dynamometer that only simulates real-world driving.
United States vehicle emission standards are set through a combination of legislative mandates enacted by Congress through Clean Air Act (CAA) amendments from 1970 onwards, and executive regulations managed nationally by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and more recently along with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). These standard cover common motor vehicle air pollution, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate emissions, and newer versions have incorporated fuel economy standards.
Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC is the holding company of Jaguar Land Rover Limited, and is a British multinational automobile manufacturer which produces luxury vehicles and sport utility vehicles. Jaguar Land Rover is a subsidiary of Tata Motors Limited and has its head office in Whitley, Coventry, UK. The principal activity of Jaguar Land Rover Limited is the design, development, manufacture and sale of vehicles bearing the Jaguar and Land Rover marques.
Bharat stage emission standards (BSES) are emission standards instituted by the Government of India to regulate the output of air pollutants from compression ignition engines and Spark-ignition engines equipment, including motor vehicles. The standards and the timeline for implementation are set by the Central Pollution Control Board under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
The Jaguar XE (X760) is a rear or all-wheel drive, front-engine, four-door compact executive car manufactured and marketed by Jaguar Land Rover, under their Jaguar marque. The successor to the X-Type, it was designed by Ian Callum and launched at the October 2014 Paris Motor Show. Production started in April 2015.
The WLTP (World harmonized Light-duty vehicles Test Procedure) is a global harmonized standard for determining the levels of pollutants, CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of traditional and hybrid cars, as well as the range of fully electric vehicles.
The Volkswagen emissions scandal, sometimes known as Dieselgate or Emissionsgate, began in September 2015, when the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation of the Clean Air Act to German automaker Volkswagen Group. The agency had found that Volkswagen had intentionally programmed turbocharged direct injection (TDI) diesel engines to activate their emissions controls only during laboratory emissions testing, which caused the vehicles' NO x output to meet US standards during regulatory testing, while they emitted up to 40 times more NO x in real-world driving. Volkswagen deployed this software in about 11 million cars worldwide, including 500,000 in the United States, in model years 2009 through 2015.
A defeat device is any motor vehicle hardware, software, or design that interferes with or disables emissions controls under real-world driving conditions, even if the vehicle passes formal emissions testing. The term appears in the US Clean Air Act and European Union regulations, to describe anything that prevents an emissions control system from working, and applies as well to power plants or other air pollution sources, as to automobiles.
The Jaguar I-Pace is a battery-electric crossover SUV produced by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) under their Jaguar marque. The I-Pace was announced in March 2018, European deliveries began in June 2018, North American deliveries started in October 2018, and Indian deliveries began in March 2021.
From 2014 onwards, software which manipulated air pollution tests was discovered in vehicles from some car makers; the software recognized when the standardized emissions test was being done, and adjusted the engine to emit less during the test. The cars emitted much higher levels of pollution under real-world driving conditions. Some cars emissions were higher even though there was no manipulated software.
Green NCAP is a green vehicle assessment programme hosted and supported by the New Car Assessment Program in cooperation with European Governments. The Organisation has test laboratories in eight European countries and aims to increase awareness of the environmental impact of the vehicles. The first set of results was released on 28 February 2019.