New diesels are bringing new problems, say environmentalists.
New diesel cars’ pollution is peaking at more than 1,000 times their normal levels, tests of two top-selling vehicles show. The dangerous spikes in particles can instantly stress the heart and are a result of the cars cleaning their filters, which may occur in urban areas, last for up to 15km, and are effectively ignored by official emissions tests. More than 45 million cars carry these filters in Europe, causing a total of 1.3 billion filter cleanings a year.
Transport & Environment (T&E), which commissioned the independent lab tests, said lawmakers must accept that diesels are still highly-polluting and should make emissions limits and testing more stringent.