AfMA is the peak industry body and represents around 500 members across Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia whose organisations include local, state and federal governments, corporate, not for profit and other organisations.
In 2002 AfMA launched a greener motoring guide designed to raise the level of awareness and demonstrate to fleet operators how their organisations could reduce CO2 and noxious gas emissions whilst increasing fuel efficiency and reducing operational costs.
A report from the International Council on Clean Transportation1 released in 2016 shows a growing divide between fuel consumption results from the laboratory test procedure and the real-world experience from around 9 per cent in 2001 to 42 per cent in 2015.
During this time many AfMA members held CO2 emission reduction targets and in fact AfMA has awarded and recognized excellence through its annual Fleet Environment Award.
Given the report1 many of the C02 emission reductions reported by AfMA members, calculated based on official laboratory information provided to fleet owners by the Green Vehicle Guide (GVG), may have been a poor estimation of the real-world emissions.
AfMA applauds AAA’s Real-world Driving Emissions (RDE) testing and has supported the process by sourcing and supplying some test vehicles from AfMA’s members. The test results are consistent with findings from international studies of the gap between laboratory and real-world driving.
The AAA RDE testing reveals all but three tests exceeded the laboratory fuel consumption results with one vehicle using up to 59 per cent more fuel and emitting a corresponding amount of CO2 more than the values provided on the governments GVG website. Additionally, noxious gas emissions in the real world have been found to be up to eight times the legal laboratory limit. This demonstrates that independent of fuel type or emissions standard, the majority of vehicles tested in the real-world consume more fuel than their official values.
AfMA understands the information provided in the GVG is based on laboratory tests, often completed overseas, however this information is misleading given results from international studies which is now supported by AAA’s RDE results.
Fleet owners rely on information provided by the government’s GVG website to make purchase decisions as fuel consumption and CO2 are major considerations when selecting a vehicle. The GVG website enables fleet owners to calculate fuel consumption and CO2 emissions for the life of the vehicle (typically 3 to 5 years) and it’s clear from AAA’s RDE results this information is misleading and costing organisations hundreds of thousands of dollars in fuel and false CO2 emissions.
Typically, a fleet of 100 vehicles will cost around $3,000,000 to purchase and have anticipated annual fuel costs of $225,3682 and produce 4022 tonnes of CO2. However, applying the maximum 59 per cent variance from AAA’s RDE results would estimate an additional cost of $400,000 in fuel and 710 tonnes more CO2 over a fleet vehicles’ life cycle of three years.
Extrapolating the maximum 59 per cent variance demonstrates the worst case scenario however the average fuel consumption above the GVG information is 20 per cent for 91 RON, 27 per cent above for 95 RON and 20 per cent above for diesel fuels. This indicates a huge range of variances with 3 vehicles delivering better real-world fuel consumption and emissions. The point is, how can fleet owners know which vehicles are better or worse than the laboratory testing displayed on the GVG site without completing real-world testing.
AfMA fully supports AAA’s proposed real-world driving emissions testing program as it complements existing and proposed regulations, its proposed funding method is feasible and requires little change to existing revenue collection methods and sees Australia matching processes soon to be adopted by London, Paris and many other cities across the world.
Importantly RDE testing will allow the government to provide accurate fuel consumption and CO2 emissions to fleet owners saving hundreds of thousands of dollars and reducing tonnes of CO2 annually.
Referencing:
1 International Council1 on Clean Transportation, 2016, From Laboratory to Road: A 2016 update of official and “real-world” consumption and CO2 values for passenger cars in Europe.
2 Average vehicle price of $30,000, 20,000 km per year, fuel type 91 RON, fuel price per litre $1.30, Urban driving 66%, GVG fuel per 100km urban 10.3 litres/extra urban 5.5 litres/combined 7.3 litres, CO2 4.02 tonnes.
Full Report:
Real World Driving Emissions Test – Summary Report
