New mpg tests on way
Car industry experts are revamping the way fuel economy is calculated to make it closer to real-world driving.
Auto Express has led calls for the current system – which produces Urban, Extra-urban and Combined figures via irrelevant lab testing – to be scrapped. In its place should be a classification which more accurately reflects what motorists might expect to achieve day-to-day.
And it looks as though that’s going to happen. Discussions on drawing up the new system – to be called the Worldwide Light-duty vehicle Test Cycle (WLTC) – are now underway.
The plan is a joint venture between the European Commission and the United Nations, and would create a global standard for setting fuel economy and exhaust emissions figures. It would also define how diesel particulates are measured and procedures to quantify energy consumption of hybrids and EVs.