New tool helps identify most polluting vehicles

Motorists will be able to identify and avoid buying the dirtiest diesel and most polluting petrol cars and vans with a new emissions scoring website.

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has unveiled a new online ‘cleaner vehicle checker’ which will include test results for new car and van models on the market.

It will clearly and more accurately detail the emissions they produce on London’s road and will free buyers from relying on official testing, which can be unrealistic.

Currently, cars only have to pass Euro Standards emissions testing, which is limited to laboratory tests and had been proven to be unrealistic.

The scheme aims to help restore public confidence following ‘Dieselgate’, where many motorists bought ‘cleaner’ cars in good faith but later found out they had dirty polluting engines because of manufacturers using ‘cheat devices’ or flaws in the official testing process.

The scheme will enable purchasers to check nearly all new car and most new van models on a special website, which will launch this autumn. Vehicles included on the website will be given a ‘score’ based on their emissions.

The move forms part of Khan’s plans to tackle London’s toxic air quality.

He has also welcomed support from the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, who is also set to introduce the car-scoring scheme.

He said: “My scheme will put an end to the smoke and mirrors that have been employed in official emissions tests.

"It will provide Londoners with an honest, accurate and independent evaluation of the emissions of most new cars and vans on our roads and on the showroom forecourt.

“By having ‘on the road’ testing I believe we will help Londoners make an informed choice and incentivise manufacturers to build cleaner vehicles sooner.”

Khan added: “The toxicity of the air in London and many other big cities is an outrage, and schemes of the type we are introducing in London and Paris have the potential to make a massive difference to the quality of the air we all breathe.”