Carmakers will face heavy fines if they supply vehicles designed
to cheat emissions tests to the UK, the government announced today (7
June 2018).
Under tough new regulations, manufacturers could be forced to pay
up to £50,000 for each new vehicle found to be fitted with a
so-called ‘defeat device’.
The rules have been brought in following a government
consultation which saw overwhelming support for measures to crack
down on emissions cheats.
This comes following the publication of the
government’s Clean Air Strategy,
which set out a range of measures to tackle air pollution. And
the government will outline further steps as part of its Road to
Zero Strategy, which will set out how the UK will transition to zero emission
vehicles.
Transport Minister said:
There has rightly been a huge public outcry against car
manufacturers that have been cheating on emissions standards.
Their behaviour has been dishonest and deplorable.
These tough new regulations are designed to ensure that those
who cheat will be held to proper account in this country,
legally and financially, for their actions.
The Road Vehicles (Defeat Device, Fuel Consumption and Type
Approval) Regulations 2018 will be laid in Parliament before
coming into force on 1 July 2018.
This announcement comes alongside the government’s commitment to
end the sale of conventional new diesel and petrol cars and vans
by 2040 and follows the publication of the UK’s air quality plan for nitrogen
dioxide (NO2) last year.
Following revelations in 2015 that Volkswagen had been using
software which caused their car engines to behave differently
during emissions tests, the Department for Transport tested a
range of the most popular diesel vehicles in
the UK. This found that
no other manufacturer tested was using a similar strategy to
Volkswagen.
Volkswagen reimbursed the British taxpayer £1.1 million for the
costs of this programme.
