RAC Report on Motoring 2016

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4.0 Air quality and the environment
4.3 The emissions scandal and
trust in manufacturers
In September 2015, government
investigators in the United States
found that Volkswagen had installed
a ‘defeat device’ in certain diesel
models, a type of software that
could detect when the vehicle
was undergoing a standard
emissions test and temporarily
reduce emission levels so as to
meet the performance standard
required by law26 .
As a result, thousands of cars
which breached US emissions
regulations are thought to have
been sold.
Subsequently, it has emerged that
the practice was also employed
by VW in Europe, while other
manufacturers have admitted that
fuel-efficiency statistics can
be misleading because of the
inadequacies of the standard
test that all manufacturers are
required to use27.
The 2016 Report on Motoring found
that more than a third of drivers
(35%) say their trust in the car
manufacturing industry as a whole
has fallen over the past 12 months
against just 12% who say it has
increased. However, motorists
appear to have more faith in the
company which makes their current
vehicle: only 9% say their trust in the
manufacturer of the car they own at
the moment has declined, compared
with 26% who report it has gone up.
26.
27.
35%
of drivers say their trust in the
car manufacturing industry as
a whole has fallen over the past
12 months
43%
of car owners who have lost
trust in their current car’s
manufacturer no longer believe
their emissions claims
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RAC Report on Motoring 2016