New data from Australia’s Real-World Testing program shows seven of the latest 14 vehicles tested consumed between 10 and 35% more fuel than advertised.
Conducted by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA), the program has now released real-world fuel consumption and tailpipe emissions results for 84 popular cars. These results show more than half of the vehicles tested use at least 5% more fuel in real driving conditions compared to their mandatory lab test results, and five of these cars use more than 30% more.
In the latest batch of 14 vehicles, the Mazda 2 had the largest fuel consumption discrepancy (35%), followed by the Suzuki Swift Hybrid (31%), the Mazda CX-5 (22%) and the MG5 (21%).
“These results again show real-world testing is needed to help consumers and fleet buyers avoid buying a vehicle that produces more emissions and higher running costs than advertised,” says AAA Managing Director Michael Bradley.
“While some cars perform as per the information at point of sale, our program is revealing that many, if not most, do not.”
The AAA program also addresses greenwashing concerns and is hoped to make the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) more robust and effective. The federal government’s NVES began last month, incentivising car makers to sell more low-emissions vehicles to reduce the nation’s transport emissions.
“Testing cars in real Australian driving conditions will help sort the wheat from the chaff when it comes to cars delivering fuel consumption that matches their mandated laboratory test results, and it will act as a complementary audit regime for the NVES,” says Mr Bradley.
“The program is working with the NVES to help make the national vehicle fleet cleaner and more fuel-efficient.”
About the program
The Real-World Testing program is promoted as a global first. It was developed by the AAA and funded by the Commonwealth government to help Australian consumers and fleets reduce their fuel consumption and motoring costs and access better information on vehicle emissions.
The program tests cars on roads in and around Geelong, Victoria, and compares real-world fuel consumption and emissions results with those obtained in mandatory lab tests. It is said to use strict test protocols to ensure fuel consumption and emissions results are repeatable and to minimise the influence of human factors such as driving style and changing traffic flows.
For full results on all 84 vehicles tested so far, visit realworld.org.au.
