Exhaust Emissions Testing                               Cymraeg

Before passenger cars can be type approved for sale in the European Union they must meet certain standards for exhaust emissions. The Euro III limits specified in Directive 98/69, were introduced from 1st January 2000 and became fully effective, for the majority of vehicles, on 1st January 2001. The more stringent Euro IV limits, also specified in Directive 98/69, will be introduced from 1st January 2005 and become fully effective from 1st January 2007, however vehicle manufacturers may seek to meet these limits in advance. The test was modified for Euro III and IV to include measurement of pollutants from the moment the engine starts. In the previous test measurement commenced after the engine had started and idled for 40 seconds. The new limits, shown below, represent a 30% reduction over the earlier Euro II limits, although this is not obvious from the figures due to the more severe test. As with the fuel consumption tests a single vehicle representative of a particular version is tested.

Because of the nature of testing procedures the type approval emission figures listed in the tables should be treated with caution and specifically should not be used to rank a number of vehicles for which similar figures are quoted. The most reliable method for comparing vehicles is to use the Euro limits to which they are approved and where possible, to choose a vehicle meeting Euro IV limits.

Tables of Emission Limits relating to vehicles listed in this booklet

Table 1 Cars not exceeding 2.5 tonnes laden

Note (i) Temporary concession for diesel cars over 2.0 tonnes laden weight which are Off road or >6 seats (unladen weight from 1206 to 1660 kg). Concession ceases on 31/12/02.

Note (ii) Temporary concession for diesel cars over 2.0 tonnes laden weight which are Off road or >6 seats (unladen weight over 1660 kg). Concession ceases on 31/12/02.

Table 2: Heavy motor car (more than 2.5 tonnes laden or more than 6 seats). Unladen weight between 1151 and 1600kg

Table 3: Heavy motor car (more than 2.5 tonnes fully laden or more than 6 seats). Unladen weight over 1600kg

Key:  P- Petrol, D - Diesel, di - direct injection, CO - Carbon Monoxide
HC - Hydrocarbons, NOx -Oxides of Nitrogen, PM - Particulate mass

Note: The test procedure for Euro III and Euro IV is more severe than that for Euro I and Euro II. This results in some emission levels having an apparent increase when in fact they are more tightly controlled.

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