Tailpipe standards for cars are a 'joke', auto sector says
A vehicle can produce four seconds of noxious, planet-heating black smoke from its tailpipe and still pass a Warrant of Fitness (WOF). Auto assessors say thats a joke. The Motor Trade Association (MTA) wants cars and trucks over 10 years old to be subject to a tougher test, where an instrument would analyse exhaust fumes. New Zealand is one of the few developed nations not to routinely conduct these tests, the body says. A vehicle that does not pass the new test would fail its WOF which would reduce the health effects of air pollution and decrease carbon emissions, the MTA says. But the body wants the Government to help owners trade non-compliant vehicles in for cleaner, more efficient ones. MTA chief executive Lee Marshall said the Government had ignored previous calls to introduce tougher tailpipe testing. In a new report , the MTA urged all political parties to consider the approach. The report quotes WOF assessor Glenn Thorley, of Grimmer Motors: The current emissions testing rules in the Warrant of Fitness are a joke. Since 2006, WOF assessors have checked a vehicles exhaust for visible smoke, while the engine is idling and as it is revved up. If its exhaust produces discernable emissions for more than five seconds, the vehicle gets a fail and must be taken to a mechanic to be tuned or repaired. Marshall said the test is flawed. Often, the noxious emissions in exhaust are invisible. The test is not performed under any load lots of vehicles dont make any smoke when theyre not moving, but put it up a hill and it smokes a lot. In other countries, an instrument is inserted into the exhaust pipe, he said. Essentially, it analyses different gases from particulates to nitrous oxide to unburned fuel or carbon monoxide. New Zealand is far behind, he said: Germany has been tailpipe-emissions-testing vehicles since 1993. While it hasnt introduced them, the Government has investigated instrument tests. Marshall understands concerns that stricter emissions testing could impact people driving the cheapest, oldest cars which will include those on low incomes. But for partly for that reason, the MTA recommends a scrappage programme. Previous Governments tested a scrap-and-replace scheme more than a decade ago. Last year, the Labour Government pledged to introduce a $569m programme to help lower-income families trade in their old fossil-fuelled cars for EVs and ebikes though it U-turned on the idea earlier this year. Alongside a similar idea to trade in cars that cant pass instrument tests, MTA suggests taxpayer funding could help tune non-compliant vehicles. Marshall believes the joint policies would reduce carbon emissions, by taking the cars that consume the most fuel and produce the most greenhouse gas off the roads at least until they were serviced. New Zealand has one of the oldest fleets of vehicles in the developed world, he said. Whatever replaced those taken off the road would be cleaner and safer. Transport Minister Michael Wood said in a statement he was open to ongoing engagement on these issues but thought there were unanswered questions on tougher tailpipe tests. The MTA report also makes several recommendations that could make it more expensive to purchase electric and hybrid vehicles. It recommends scrapping the Clean Car Discount, or feebate. Marshall thought the policy had a noble intention and has incentivised people to buy cleaner cars. While he thought the feebate might become self-funded, it was not at the moment the money could be more effectively used, he said. Marshall was unconvinced of the policys benefits for new vehicles, though said the discounts could have a stronger influence on the used car market. Minister Wood had no intention of ending the Clean Car Discount. This scheme has been the most effective way of getting people into low-emissions vehicles, he said. Were committed to sustaining this momentum. The MTA also wants to defer the Clean Car Standard which essentially requires car sellers to balance out the sale of a high-polluting SUV or ute with zero- and low-emitting cars by two years. Technology hasnt moved as fast as the Government had hoped, Marshall said. New Zealands vehicle emissions targets are more lenient than other countries in the first few years, though are relatively ambitious from 2026, according to analysis by international transport experts. At the same time, international EV sales are growing exponentially . New Zealand is a taker of what gets manufactured overseas, Marshall said. The move to EVs is, from my perspective, inevitable. The auto industry body also wants EVs to pay road user charges and for all cash raised from these fees to go to roads, rather than non-road transport options such as rail. Our weekly email newsletter, by the Forever Project's Olivia Wannan, rounds up the latest climate events. Sign up here .