NEXT GREEN CAR-EMISSIONS

Following the on-going revelations about diesel NOx emissions testing and the health impacts of poor air quality, Next Green Car has teamed up with Emissions Analytics to improve the NGC Rating by including real-world vehicle emissions data.

By basing the NGC Rating on emissions which are measured in the real-world rather than in the laboratory, the new scores will give car buyers better and more accurate information as to a vehicle's impact on climate change and air quality.

The NGC Rating developed by Next Green Car, the UK's No.1 green car website, is a unique method of assessing a vehicle's environmental impact and is available for 60,000+ models across all power-trains including petrol, diesel, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles.

To ensure that the rating is based on the best quality data, real-world emissions are now estimated using the EQUA Indices for Air Quality (NOx), Carbon Monoxide (CO), and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) as provided by Emissions Analytics.

Emissions Analytics are world-leaders in real-world vehicle emissions testing, and have developed the EQUA Index which puts accurate fuel consumption and air quality data in the hands of the car buyer so they can make an informed decision.

Emissions Analytics tests hundreds of new cars each year, covering over 90% of car sales, in real-world conditions on the road using state-of-the-art portable gas analysers. The tests include petrol and diesels, hybrids and plug-ins for many pollutant emissions, not least NOx.

As compared to the original scores, on average, the real-world NGC Rating penalises petrol cars by around 14 points and diesels by around 27 points, the latter due to the higher on-road emissions of NOx emissions. Some models however perform well in the real-world; the 1.6 litre petrol Toyota Verso is within 7 points of its laboratory test. In contrast, the 1.5 litre Infiniti Q30 SE has a NGC Rating almost 50 points worse than its official test suggests.

Dr Ben Lane, Director of Next Green Car commented: "We are delighted to partner with Emissions Analytics whose high-quality data enables the NGC Rating to account for the higher emissions associated with real-world driving. In particular, the updated rating better reflects the higher tailpipe NOx emissions from Euro 4, 5 and 6 diesel vehicles."

Nick Molden, founder & CEO of Emissions Analytics added: "The aim of both Emissions Analytics and Next Green Car is to look deeper than the simple headline 'Euro' ratings and discriminate between cleaner and dirtier cars. Emissions Analytics has developed a highly detailed understanding of how vehicles perform in the real-world and, incorporating the EQUA Indices in the NGC Rating brings that insight to a wider audience."