Dirty diesel cars ply EU roads

EUROPE, KNOWN for its tight emission norms, has 29 million highly polluting modern diesel vehicles plying its roads. This is about 76 per cent of the diesel vehicles registered between 2009 and 2015, says a study by European advocacy group, Transport and Environment (T&E). Over four in five cars that meet the Euro-V standard for nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the laboratory produce over three times the 180 g per 1,000 km limit when driven on the road. Two-thirds of the Euro-VI cars, mostly on sale since 2015, also produce over three times the 80 g per 1,000 km limit in real world condition. About 70 per cent of these dirty diesel vehicles are sold in France, Germany, Italy and the UK. These cars switch off their exhaust after-treatment system to improve fuel economy. These cars could be responsible for the high NOx levels in cities that lead to the premature death of 72,000 EU citizens annually, says T&E.