VW Group struggles to get 250,000 cars type approved

WLTP and RDE are a thorn in any car maker’s thigh, but Volkswagen Group seems to suffer more than its competitors. The German car making group says it faces delays possibly affecting a quarter of a million cars because it cannot get a large number of models type-approved in time.

WLTP requires every car model, body type, transmission and equipment combination to be tested on benches. The NEDC procedure was much simpler and only considered tyre sizes in determining a vehicle’s fuel efficiency and hence CO2 emissions. WLTP takes into account every option that impacts the car’s weight, aerodynamic drag and rolling resistance.

Too many models, too little benches

VW Group has to test thousands of different models while it only has a limited number of emission test benches. The deadline is September 1st 2018 – with the exception of a few run-out series, which can keep their old NEDC type approval until the end of production. The automotive group announces that a large group of models will not get type-approved in time, resulting in production delays for 200,000 to 250,000 vehicles.

In spite of the type-approval and production delays, VW Group still expects to deliver 10.7 million vehicles globally this year, i.e. slightly more than in 2017. German magazine Der Spiegel reported last Friday that the risk for VW could run into billions. Moreover, RDE may mean killling off certain powertrains as it takes to much financial and technical effort to make them comply.

Picture copyright: VW, 2018