European Parliament Committee of Inquiry into Emission Measurements in the Automotive Sector 19.12.2016 FACTUAL PART OF THE EMIS REPORT Rapporteurs: Jens Gieseke, Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy INFORMAL CONSOLIDATED VERSION NOTE: This document is meant purely as a documentation tool for ease of consultation. EMIS REPORT - FACTUAL PART - INFORMAL CONSOLIDATED VERSION 2 / 71 EMIS REPORT - FACTUAL PART - INFORMAL CONSOLIDATED VERSION NOTE This document provides, for ease of consultation, an informal consolidated version of the “factual part” that is part of the report of the Committee of Inquiry into Emission Measurements in the Automotive Sector. At the draft report stage, the 7 chapters and 5 appendices making up the “factual part” are subdivided into 12 official working documents.1 This “factual part” sets out the methodology of the inquiry and collects and analyses the factual evidence that the committee gathered in order to reach the conclusions. The draft conclusions of the inquiry and the draft recommendations for the future are respectively included in a separate draft report and in a separate draft motion for a European Parliament recommendation.2 1 List of working documents making up the factual part of the report: – Chapter 1: Introduction (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?language=EN&reference=PE594.071) – Chapter 2: Technical background (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?language=EN&reference=PE594.072) – Chapter 3: Laboratory tests and real-world emissions (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?language=EN&reference=PE594.073) – Chapter 4: Defeat devices (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?language=EN&reference=PE594.074) – Chapter 5: Type-approval and in-service conformity (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?language=EN&reference=PE594.075) – Chapter 6: Enforcement and penalties (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?language=EN&reference=PE594.076) – Chapter 7: Powers and limitations of the committee of inquiry (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?language=EN&reference=PE594.077) – Appendix A: The mandate of the committee of inquiry (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?language=EN&reference=PE594.078) – Appendix B: The committee of inquiry (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?language=EN&reference=PE594.079) – Appendix C: Activities of the committee of inquiry (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?language=EN&reference=PE594.080) – Appendix D: Timeline (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?language=EN&reference=PE594.081) – Appendix E: Glossary (http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?language=EN&reference=PE594.082) 2 The documents are linked on the committee’s home page: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/EMIS/home.html 3 / 71 EMIS REPORT - FACTUAL PART - INFORMAL CONSOLIDATED VERSION Contents 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 5 1.1. The committee of inquiry and its mandate .................................................................. 5 1.2. Working methods ........................................................................................................ 6 1.3. Structure of the report .................................................................................................. 7 2. Technical background ................................................................................................... 10 2.1. Analysis of the evidence gathered ......................................................................... 10 3. Laboratory tests and real-world emissions .................................................................... 12 3.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 12 3.2. Analysis of the evidence gathered ......................................................................... 12 4. Defeat devices ............................................................................................................... 20 4.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 20 4.2. Analysis of the evidence gathered ......................................................................... 20 5. Type-approval and in-service conformity ..................................................................... 26 5.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 26 5.2. Analysis of the evidence gathered ......................................................................... 27 6. Enforcement and penalties ............................................................................................ 30 6.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 30 6.2. Analysis of the evidence gathered ......................................................................... 30 7. Powers and limitations of the committee of inquiry ......................................................... 34 7.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 34 7.2 Analysis of the experience of the committee ............................................................. 35 Appendix A. The mandate of the committee of inquiry ...................................................... 39 Appendix B. The committee of inquiry ............................................................................... 42 Appendix C. Activities of the committee of inquiry ............................................................ 46 C.1. Overview ................................................................................................................... 46 C.2. Activities .................................................................................................................... 46 Appendix D. Timeline .................................................................................................... 55 Appendix E. Glossary ................................................................................................... 67 4 / 71 EMIS REPORT - FACTUAL PART - INFORMAL CONSOLIDATED VERSION 1. Introduction 1.1. The committee of inquiry and its mandate On 17 December 2015, the European Parliament decided to set up a committee of inquiry to investigate alleged contraventions or maladministration in the application of Union law in relation to emission measurements in the automotive sector, without prejudice to the jurisdiction of national or Union courts. The concerns that led to the setting up of the committee of inquiry trace their origin to the Notice of Violation of the Clean Air Act issued on 18 September 2015 by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the Volkswagen group. The notice alleged that the group installed software on certain diesel vehicles to detect when the vehicle is undergoing emissions testing, and that the software turns on full emissions controls only during the test but reduces their effectiveness during normal driving. The result is that cars that meet emissions standards in the laboratory emit nitrogen oxides at levels up to 40 times the standard during normal operation. According to the EPA, this software is a “defeat device” and is prohibited under the US Clean Air Act. In the EU, emission standards for light duty vehicles are laid down in Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 on type-approval of motor vehicles with respect to emissions from light passenger and commercial vehicles (Euro 5 and Euro 6). The general context is provided by the framework Directive 2007/46/EC on type-approval, which sets out the safety and environmental requirements that motor vehicles have to comply with before being placed on the EU market. Regulation (EC) No 715/2007 requires that “the components likely to affect emissions are designed, constructed and assembled so as to enable the vehicle, in normal use, to comply” with the emission standards and prohibits “the use of defeat devices that reduce the effectiveness of emission control systems” (except where the device is justified by the need to protect the engine or for safety). The findings of the US EPA spurred several investigations across the European Union on the possible use of prohibited defeat devices and in general on the discrepancies between pollutant emissions measured in the laboratory during the type-approval process and the same emissions measured in real world conditions. Since 2010-2011, several studies, including reports published by the Commission’s Joint Research Centre, showed large discrepancies in nitrogen oxides emissions of diesel cars sold on the EU market. On 27 October 2015, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on emission measurements in the automotive sector, calling inter alia for “a thorough investigation regarding the role and responsibility of the Commission and of Member State authorities, bearing in mind inter alia the problems established in the 2011 report of the Commission’s Joint Research Centre”. Following up on its resolution, on 17 December 2015 Parliament set up a committee of inquiry consisting of 45 members, with the brief of carrying out such an investigation. In summary, the 5 / 71 EMIS REPORT - FACTUAL PART - INFORMAL CONSOLIDATED VERSION mandate adopted by Parliament – which is included in full in Appendix A – required