Lack of accurate car emissions data is hindering uptake of EVs in Australia, experts warn

theguardian.com:

Australia is “flying blind” when it comes to emissions from particular vehicles because the federal government relies on industry data, experts have warned amid a push for new fuel and CO2 emission standards.

The main source for vehicle-specific emissions data in Australia is the Green Vehicle Guide, a government site that reports information from carmakers on CO2 emissions for new cars sold since 2004. The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), an industry association representing carmakers, publishes information about the average emissions of different car brands.

Authorities rely on these two sources to plan the decarbonisation of Australia’s car fleet, but experts have questioned the car industry’s role in supplying some of the data, and its reliability, given outdated testing methods that do not give a true picture of CO2 emissions.

Both datasets were produced using the new European drive cycle (NEDC) which Robin Smit, an emissions researcher from University of Technology Sydney, said was “old and outdated”. It is no longer used in Europe as it “does not replicate what’s happening in the real world”, he said.

“In Europe, they updated with the world harmonised light vehicle test procedure which is more representative of modern day driving,” he said.

The NEDC was at the heart of the 2015 Volkswagen scandal when it was revealed the car company was gaming the test.

Audrey Quicke from the Australia Institute said without proper transparency it wasn’t possible to know whether supplied data included accounting credits for “off cycle technologies”. They are technical improvements – such as aerodynamic paint jobs or more efficient air conditioning systems – which carmakers use to claim credits and lower the total CO2