The global automobile industry, together with international legislators has devised a new way of testing new vehicles that will provide more realistic figures of CO2 emissions and fuel consumption in the future.
WLTP stands for ‘Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure’. It replaces the old vehicle testing procedure as a new way of measuring exhaust emissions and fuel consumption, which takes into account many additional factors that can effect consumption and is therefore much closer to our everyday driving behaviour.
Timeline of Events
September 2017:
WLTP testing was introduced for all new vehicles launched from this date onwards.
Car manufacturers had a ‘transition period’ of 12 months to ensure that all of their vehicles were tested using WLTP.
Vehicles that were tested using the old NEDC procedure are still able to be sold.
September 2018:
All new cars should be tested using WLTP and no longer NEDC.
However, there is an exception made for ‘end-of-series’ vehicles which allows a limited number of unsold vehicles still in stock that were approved under the old NEDC test to be sold for one more year.
January 2019:
All manufacturers should display WLTP fuel consumption data (mpg) for all of their vehicles. However, NEDC-correlated CO2 emissions values should be displayed until April 2020 (see below for more details).
During 2020:
The European Commission will convert today’s NEDC based CO2 targets to specific WLTP-CO2 targets of comparable stringency.
As of 6th April 2020, all manufacturers should state WLTP CO2 emissions values on all marketing materials.
The WLTP driving cycle is divided into four phases, each with different average speeds: Low, Medium, High and Extra High. Each phase includes a variety of driving situations (acceleration, braking, stopping) based on statistical data from vehicles driven on the road. Even air temperature has been adjusted to better reflect the average European temperatures and, for the first time, vehicles with accessories such as roof racks, alloy wheels and spoilers are also taken into consideration. This new test method considers a broader range of different driving situations and therefore corresponds much more to real-world driving conditions.
You may also see a fuel consumption value for a “combined” driving phase, which is simply a combination of all four driving phases. This is even more reflective of a real-world driving scenario and is therefore the most quoted figure by manufacturers.
The detailed characteristics of your car are all taken into consideration.
The previous testing method, NEDC (New European Driving Cycle), dates back to 1970. This laboratory-based test didn’t take into account today’s technology or how we drive. WLTP provides more realistic evaluations based on real driving scenarios from every day life
|
Test criteria |
NEDC |
WLTP |
|---|---|---|
|
Test cycle |
Single test cycle |
Dynamic cycle more representative of real driving |
|
Cycle time |
20 minutes |
30 minutes |
|
Cycle distance |
11 kilometres |
23.25 kilometres |
|
Driving phases |
2 phases, 66% urban and 34% extra urban driving |
4 more dynamic phases, Low/Medium/High/Extra High, each increasing the speed and drive power |
|
Average speed |
34 kilometres per hour |
46.5 kilometres per hour |
|
Maximum speed |
120 kilometres per hour |
131 kilometres per hour |
|
Influence of optional equipment |
Impact on CO2 and fuel performance is not considered under NEDC |
Additional features ( which can differ per car) are taken into account |
|
Gear shifts |
Vehicles have fixed gear shift points |
Different gear shift for each vehicle |
|
Test temperatures |
Measurements at 20-30˚C |
Measurements at 23˚C, CO2 values corrected to 14˚C |
Specific dates are set to ensure that all manufacturers comply with the new regulations. The WLTP consumption and emissions cycle applied to all newly certified vehicles from September 2017 and for all newly registered vehicles from September 2018.
From 1st January 2019, Honda’s website, brochures and retailers will be displaying WLTP fuel consumption figures for all of our vehicles – and this will be the same across all other manufacturers. This will avoid confusion amongst our customers when visiting retailers or when comparing websites, brochures and specifications.
How well your car performs in terms of fuel consumption and emissions will not change. Although, the mpg figures for all vehicles are likely to decrease following the introduction of WLTP.
This is simply due to the more rigorous nature of the new testing procedure, which means the WLTP values are more likely to reflect the performance of your vehicle on today's roads.
WHY AM I STILL SEEING NEDC CO2 EMISSIONS VALUES DESPITE THE INTRODUCTION OF WLTP?
The government will continue to calculate vehicle tax based on NEDC CO2 emissions values up until 6th April 2020. This means that, despite the introduction of WLTP, the NEDC CO2 emissions value will be stated on all marketing material up until this date. Following the WLTP test, the WLTP CO2 values are translated back to an NEDC-equivalent value.
In most cases, this will result in a higher CO2 emissions value for a specific vehicle when compared to its original NEDC figure - this is simply because WLTP is more rigorous than the old testing procedure.
National governments plan to adapt their taxation systems to ensure that the new testing procedure does not negatively impact vehicle taxation by increasing costs for the consumers.
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