Mots clé clean cars; clean production; emissions

Standards and regulations of private cars aim at developing, amongst others, less environmentally polluting cars – so called “clean cars”. These standards and regulations are performance-oriented. They are implemented by applying the best practices available at present used by the automotive industry. Standards and regulations help to promote the development of vehicles that are more environmentally friendly than the existing average vehicle in production, have a better performance and come with end-of-life disposal systems. They include parameters such as fuel efficiency, tailpipe emissions and best practices in "clean" production of cars.

Improvement of fuel efficiency is essential in mitigating environmental pollution by motor vehicles. At present, a variety of options exist for improving fuel economy. Under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) has adopted new Regulations applicable to new road motor vehicles annexed to the 1958 Agreement on the Construction of Vehicles using less polluting fuels, such as Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Furthermore, it has regulated the construction of electric vehicles and more recently that of hybrid vehicles, i.e. vehicles equipped with both electric and combustion engines. Hybrid powertrains combine the range and power of an internal combustion engine with the high efficiency of an electric drive. Work is under way on a new Regulation for vehicles using compressed or liquefied hydrogen.

The strict use of limit values for tailpipe emissions is necessary for modern cars as even the most clean and efficient motor vehicles today still pollute the environment. Efficient regulation of tailpipe emission (hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter) requires tighter standards and regulations adopted at the national level. A way towards lower emissions could be the improvement of engine and catalytic converter-based control technologies, which are the best available practices at the moment for gasoline vehicles.

Best practices in "clean" production of cars aim at achieving superior environmental performance in vehicle production and the use of non-toxic recyclable materials, including best practices for painting/coating, elimination of heavy metals and other toxic substances and materials from the vehicle component parts, design for recyclability and maximum use of recycled materials.