No more cheating, car makers! Govt to test random dealer cars

The transport ministry has decided to randomly pick cars from dealerships to check whether or not they comply with the company certified emission specifications. Under this new practice, at least 50% of the sample cars used for emission tests will be collected from randomly picked dealers. Under the current testing system, the government gets majority of the cars for testing from factories, while just 25% are taken from dealers.

The aforementioned step is being taken after repeated cases came to light, where automotive manufacturers were found fudging emission claims. Volkswagen's infamous Dieselgate scandal was one of several recent instances where manufacturers have been noticed using illegal practices to come up with false laboratory emission results, while their cars produced higher emissions than certified. India too saw a major emission scandal when Chevrolet was found guilty of sending pre-tested Taveras for government emission tests, as the company officials knew that many production models will fail the test. Testing random cars taken from dealers reduces the chances of such manipulation on part of the manufacturers.

In addition to the random picking of cars, the transport ministry is working on a procedure that will help in collecting real-time emission data from cars plying on the roads. Presently, emission testing fully relies on laboratory tests, and there are no standards for on-road vehicles.

Government testing agencies usually test a sample of cars to certify a specific model. The number of vehicles used in the testing sample is normally equal to its average daily production in one fiscal year.

Source: Times of India