The EU May Have Known of Diesel Manipulation Before the TDI Scandal Broke

A new report from the Financial Times suggests that European Union officials were aware of emissions trickery before VW’s TDI scandal broke.

In the report, an EU spokesperson tells the Financial Times that transportation officials from all European nations were made aware of emissions manipulation as early as 2012.

The report cites an email in which a scientist at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre notes that starting a diesel car (they don’t say which) below 68 degrees Fahrenheit or above 86 leads to a strong increase in NOx emissions.

The email is an arrow in the quiver of reformers who are dissatisfied with EU emissions testing, which has been accused of not resembling real life and giving preference to small displacement turbocharged engines.

Although engines only operating to EU emissions standards in a specific temperature range is legal, the email goes on to say that “NOx reducing devices” were only operational in a very specific window.

The report explains why so many other manufacturers were accused of emissions cheating in the wake of the TDI scandal, and sheds light on the legal ecosystem in which VW was operating in the lead up to the scandal.

[source: Financial Times]

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