Certification of CO2 emissions from trucks comes into force with endorsement of VECTO tool

The VECTO tool, endorsed by EU member states and the European Commission this month, means that by 2019, commercial vehicle makers will be required to certify the CO2 emissions of all the new trucks they sell in Europe. The tool is designed to make figures for fuel consumption and CO2 emissions from new heavy-goods vehicles available for truck buyers.

 

The system will require truckmakers to supply information on key vehicle parameters, including weight, aerodynamics performance and engine efficiency. Using this data, the simulator will generate reference CO2 emission values that customers can read on labels placed on new vehicles.

 

According to T&E, these fuel figures could also be the basis for the CO2 standards for heavy-duty vehicles that the Commission is expected to propose early next year.

 

T&E says that while this new test procedure will increase transparency, it will not deliver the emissions cuts Europe needs to meet its climate targets or prevent truckmakers from exploiting test loopholes. The Brussels-based NGO would like the second version of VECTO - due later this year - to guarantee that researchers, fleet managers, transport companies and NGOs will have access to the raw data used. They say that this would allow the figures to be cross-checked with the results of independent testing. 

 

T&E’s safer and cleaner trucks officer, Stef Cornelis, said: ‘We welcome the adoption of the VECTO test procedure but in order to make it more accurate and reliable, we’ll need on-road testing and third party checks.”

 

The Commission announced last year that it would introduce fuel efficiency standards for trucks for the first time in Europe. Trucks represent less than 5% of all vehicles on the road in Europe but are responsible for around 30% of road transport CO2 emissions. Lack of progress on truck fuel economy and road freight growth led to HDV emissions increasing by 36℅ between 1990 and 2010.