Whether or not the Commission recasts the proposals more favourably to the car makers “plays a role in the future of Polo”, Schäfer said.
VW says the issue is not with emissions levels themselves, which are almost unchanged from those of Euro 6 from September 2014. “We’ve got no problem with the emissions part. We actually asked to take the limits for CO [carbon monoxide] and NOx [oxides of nitrogen] right up!” Schäfer said. “But they said no, we give you tougher frame conditions.”
The ‘frame conditions’ include a broader operational window in which the emissions restrictions apply. For example, the ambient temperature changes from 0-30deg C to 0-35deg C, while the “extended” conditions drops from -7deg C to -10deg C and rises to 45deg C.
Rather than focus on the emissions themselves, the European Union in the past few years has been tightening up the loopholes within Euro 6, starting with the Real Driving Emissions (RDE) element to ensure the cars are actually cleaner in the real world, not just the laboratory. RDE was introduced in 2017 in the aftermath of Dieselgate – which VW was at the centre of.
VW and other car makers argue that the push to electrification with a ban on internal combustion engines on the schedule for 2035 makes Euro 7 irrelevant, given the pace of the switchover. “The solution is electrification. We all know this,” Schäfer said. “Combustion engine volumes drop right off in 2026/27 after Euro 7 comes in.”
