This paper uses real-world on-road data to investigate engine and tailpipe solutions used by light-duty automotive sector to mitigate pollutant emissions over the last decade. The main objective is to evaluate how close or far the current state-of-the art technologies are from meeting the EURO 6e and EURO 7 proposals for emission limits, using on-road data collected on a sample ranging from EURO 5 to EURO 6d vehicles. On-road data was collected at 1 Hz, using a Portable Emission Measurement System (PEMS) on a sample of vehicles ranging from EURO 5 to EURO 6d. A portable laboratory was used to simultaneously collect OBD data (including vehicle speed and engine data, such as mass air flow, engine load and speed), altitude and exhaust tailpipe emissions (CO2, CO, HC, O2 and NOx), among other parameters. Data was collected in several locations in Europe (Portugal and Sweden) to meet current Real Driving Emission (RDE) requirements. Adequate and scientifically accepted data treatment methods to evaluate on-road data were used to compute NEDC and WLTC emissions in g/km, in order to compare with EURO 6e and EURO 7 expected emission limits. Preliminary results indicate that on-road data collected on 9 compression-ignition Euro 5 vehicles and using NEDC driving cycle, present on average, a factor of 2.5 higher NOx emissions than EURO 5 standard and a factor of 7.3 higher NOx than EURO 7. A similar analysis is to be made with data already collected for vehicles that meet the several EURO 6 updates, although a trend was already identified, reducing the gap between the WLTC computed emissions and the respective emission standard. This study uses several equipment to collect on-road data and techniques to analyze this data. A statistical analysis was not performed to evaluate the boundaries of emission for the vehicles that fall on each emission standard. The authors understand that the objective was only to quantify and provide an insight on how close or far are the currently sold vehicles. On the other hand, this paper offers a discussion regarding the current state of the art vehicle technologies used and commercially commonly available by light-duty vehicle manufacturers, to understand the real effort that must be made to meet future EURO 6e and EURO 7 standards. This analysis was not yet performed by the authors and it is a research field that is not commonly addressed, since it uses real driving, on-road data. This paper uses light-duty vehicle real-world on-road PEMS data to evaluate its CO2 and emission performance compared with their respective emission standard and future EURO standards. Preliminary results suggest that older vehicles have higher differences between on-road tailpipe NOx emission and the respective standard.

Dr. Roberto Varella, Virtualization and Simulation Business Development, AVL