In line with their October 2015 commitment to transparency, the PSA Group – who own both the Citroen and Peugeot brands – have published the results of real-world fuel consumption tests for 30 core models, which reveal an average 2L/100km difference from the manufacturer’s claimed tests.

The results come from a testing procedure established with two French non-government organisations; Transport and Environment (T&E) and France Nature Environment (FNE), with the results audited by the French office of Bureau Veritas.

The test procedure was based on the European Union’s Real Driving Emissions (RDE) project and measures fuel consumption by means of a portable emissions measurement system (PEMS) installed on the vehicle. Bureau Veritas, an independent international body has also guaranteed the accuracy of the procedure, stating that it was conducted in line with their specifications and that the results are reliable.

According to a PSA statement, the measurements were made on public roads open to traffic (25 km urban, 39 km rural and 31 km motorway) and under real-life driving conditions, notably with passenger and luggage loads, road gradients, and the use of air-conditioning systems. The measurements taken are also comparable to results achieved by PSA customers that were obtained from independent customer surveys.

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Commenting on the announcement, Gilles Le Borgne, Executive Vice President, Research & Development, said: “PSA will publish figures for another 20 models by the end of the year and introduce a simulator allowing customers to reduce their fuel consumption depending on driving conditions, thereby lowering their CO2 emissions. In 2017, the Group will move to the next level by extending measurements to pollutant emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in customer driving conditions.”

While PSA has to be commended on its world first initiative, the EU’s RDE tests have been muted for some time in the automotive industry.

Daimler AG Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche was the first to throw his support behind publishing real world fuel economy numbers after the EU stated earlier this year that the gap between official economy numbers and real world driving was around 40%. In a Wheels interview on fuel standards from the Detroit Motor show, Zetsche commented thatthe automotive industry: “needs real world numbers to end this ambiguous discussion. This (Dieselgate) is a case and discussion where the law has not been pursued. The rest of us are bringing our cars to market according to the rules, but because you have a differentiation between the real world numbers and these rules, we need clear, specific definitions and a more coherent system. And we are totally committed to working on that and arriving at a solution as soon as possible. It will help us all.”

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“We have no local plans at this stage, as those tests can only be initiated by our German counterparts” Stamoulis said.

“But all future Mercedes Benz models will be RDE test compliant, beginning with our new Mercedes Benz E220 CDI Bluetech, which is due to be launched at the end of this month.”

Ultimately carmakers will have to follow PSA and Daimler’s lead with more transparency about the way they certify their fuel economy and emission ratings, as regulators step up scrutiny into the gap between laboratory results and real-world driving conditions. It’s important that there is more similarity in the RDE results and the manufacturers claims, so the general public realises the difference between what you measure in the real world to what you measure in the lab.

PSA results by brand

Some drivetrains and specifications listed may differ to Australian sold vehicles.

Peugeot models

14 PEUGEOT MODELST&E procedure
l/100km
Standard
l/100km
Difference
l/100km
108u00a01.2l PureTech 82 BVM5 15” STD tyres6.14.31.8
208u00a01.6l BlueHDi 100 BVM5 16” VLRR tyres4.73.51.2
208u00a01.6l BlueHDi 120 S&S BVM5 16” ULRR tyres4.731.7
2008u00a01.6l BlueHDi 100 BVM5 16” VLRR tyres5.13.71.4
2008u00a01.6l BlueHDi 120 S&S BVM6 16” VLRR tyres5.23.71.5
2008u00a01.2l PureTech 82 BVM5 16” VLRR tyres6.44.91.5
2008u00a01.2l PureTech 110 S&S EAT6 16” VLRR tyres7.14.82.3
308u00a01.6l BlueHDi 120 S&S BVM6 16” ULRR tyres4.93.21.7
308u00a01.2l PureTech 130 S&S BVM6 16” VLRR tyres6.64.62
308u00a01.2l PureTech 110 S&S BVM5 16” ULRR tyres6.342.3
3008u00a01.6l BlueHDi 120 S&S BVM6 17” VLRR tyres6.14.12
3008u00a01.2l PureTech 130 S&S BVM6 17” ULRR tyres7.64.92.7
508u00a02.0l BlueHDi 180 S&S EAT6 17” ULRR tyres6.342.3
PARTNERu00a01.6l BlueHDi 120 S&S BVM5 15” VLRR tyres6.14.31.8

Citroën models

11 CITROu00cbN MODELST&E procedure
l/100km
Standard
l/100km
Difference
l/100km
C1u00a0PureTech 82 BVM Feelu00a015” STD tyres6.14.31.8
C3u00a0PureTech 82 BVM Exclusiveu00a016” VLRR tyres6.34.61.7
C3u00a0Picassou00a0BlueHDi 100 BVM Confort 16” VLRR tyres5.73.81.9
C3u00a0BlueHDi 75 S&S BVM 15” ULRR tyres4.93.01.9
C4u00a0Cactusu00a0BlueHDi 100 BVM Shine 16” VLRR tyres5.13.61.5
C4u00a0Cactusu00a0PureTech 110 S&S BVM Shine 16” VLRR tyres6.14.31.8
C4u00a0BlueHDi 100 BVM Feel 16” VLRR tyres5.13.61.5
C4u00a0Picassou00a0BlueHDi 120 S&S EAT6 Intensive 17” VLRR tyres6.53.92.6
Grand C4 Picassou00a0BlueHDi 120 S&S BVM6 Attraction 16”u00a0ULRR tyres5.741.7
Grand C4 Picassou00a0PureTech 130 S&S BVM6 Intensive 17”u00a0VLRR tyres7.452.4
Berlingou00a0BlueHDi 100 BVM 15” VLRR tyres6.14.31.8

DS models

3 DS MODELST&E procedure
l/100km
Standard
l/100km
Difference
l/100km
DS 3u00a0BlueHDi 120 S&S BVM6 Sport Chic53.61.4
DS 3u00a0PureTech 110 S&S BVM So Chic64.31.7
DS 4u00a0PureTech 110 S&S BVM So Chic5.43.81.6