AIR Index is a standardised

motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of people or cargo. The ...

emissions ranking system introduced in February 2019 by Allow Independent Road-testing (AIR). The objective of the system is to encourage the use of independent and meaningful motor vehicle

NOx In atmospheric chemistry, is shorthand for nitric oxide () and nitrogen dioxide (), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution. These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tropos ...

emissions tests to robustly inform consumers and policymakers of the real-world impact motor vehicles will have on urban air quality.

Background

AIR, the United Kingdom-based group behind the index, is an alliance of scientists, academics and economists from public and private organisations and is a

not-for-profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

. The alliance aims to provide independent and rigorous data that will help consumers and policymakers reduce the negative impact that

s have on urban air quality. Nick Molden, one of the co-founders of AIR, said: "The transparent publication of independent, on-road emissions testing results is the most efficient way to improve air quality." Another co-founder Massimo Fedeli said: "It gives easy to understand, at-a-glance information on actual vehicle emissions in towns and cities." The ambition for the founders of AIR is that their AIR Index scheme will have a similar impact on real-world vehicle emissions as the

Euro NCAP The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment programme (i.e. a New Car Assessment Program) based in Leuven (Belgium) formed in 1996, with the first results released in Februa ...

scheme has on real-world vehicle safety.

Vehicle testing and ranking

The AIR Index gives individual vehicle models an A, B, C, D or E rating, and correspondingly colour-coded as green, yellow-green, yellow,

amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In M ...

or red (in a similar way to the

European Union energy label EU Directive 92/75/EC established an energy consumption labelling scheme. The directive was implemented by several other directives thus most white goods, light bulb packaging and cars must have an EU Energy Label clearly displayed when offered ...

system used for domestic appliances). The rankings are based on the

nitrogen oxide Nitrogen oxide may refer to a binary compound of oxygen and nitrogen, or a mixture of such compounds: Charge-neutral * Nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen(II) oxide, or nitrogen monoxide *Nitrogen dioxide (), nitrogen(IV) oxide * Nitrogen trioxide (), o ...

(NOx) emissions of the vehicle, independently measured in a standardised way, and on at least two independently sourced vehicles, with a

portable emissions measurement system A portable emissions measurement system (PEMS) is a vehicle emissions testing device that is small and light enough to be carried inside or moved with a motor vehicle that is being driven during testing, rather than on the stationary rollers of ...

(PEMS) in real-world urban driving situations. The rating is based on the number of

milligrams The kilogram (also kilogramme) is the unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), having the unit symbol kg. It is a widely used measure in science, engineering and commerce worldwide, and is often simply called a kilo colloquially ...

per

kilometre The kilometre ( SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres ( kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is now the measurement unit used for ...

(mg/km) of NOx emitted as follows: A (green) = 0-80, B (yellow-green) = 80-168, C (yellow) = 168-270, D (amber) = 270-600 and E (red) = 600 and above. The ratings of six

Euro 6 The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and EEA member states and the UK, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a ser ...

compliant cars were published at the time the AIR Index scheme was launched.

Reception

The leader of the

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...

team that discovered some of the early evidence of the Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal, Dan Carder, director of their ''Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines and Emissions'', said: "If the AIR Index had been implemented 15 years ago, Dieselgate would likely not have happened."

Expansion

In March 2019,

Jaguar Land Rover Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC is the holding company of Jaguar Land Rover Limited (also known as JLR), and is a British multinational automobile manufacturer which produces luxury vehicles and sport utility vehicles. Jaguar Land Rover is ...

(JLR) became the first European car producer to submit new cars from its marques for testing.

References

External links