Conclusion

Road mobility is essential to our society. At present, it is still based on the internal combustion engine which, despite significant progress, is still seen as the main culprit in the deterioration of atmospheric quality. Indeed, despite the ever-increasing stringency of European regulations on automobile exhaust emissions, the public is still exposed to concentrations of atmospheric pollutants in excess of accepted limits. As a result, RDE tests have been added to the type-approval procedure to ensure that they are more representative of driving in real traffic. Laboratory tests for homologation are, and will continue to be, desirable because of their repeatability. So, both parts of the current type-approval process (laboratory tests + real-life traffic tests) are aimed at achieving a real reduction in tailpipe emissions.

The RDE test may seem straightforward,...