Car companies face huge new fines if they cheat emissions tests

Car companies could face fines of up to £50,000 per vehicle if they cheat emissions tests, the government announced today.

The new regulations target cars fitted with so-called ‘defeat devices’, which create false results in tests for polluting or unhealthy emissions by changing vehicles’ behaviour.

Manufacturers face paying the fines for each new car found with the devices.

Volkswagen previously paid £1.1m for the cost of a UK testing programme, after revelations that it had fitted software in its cars to make engines behave differently during testing. The scandal was first uncovered in the US but quickly spread around the world, resulting in huge fines for the company and criminal charges for some executives.

“There has rightly been a huge public outcry,” said transport minister Jesse Norman. “These tough new regulations are designed to ensure that those who cheat will be held to proper account in this country, legally and financially, for their actions.”

The new rules come into effect on 1 July.

The announcement follows the publication of the government’s clean air strategy, and the ban on new conventional diesel and petrol cars from 2040.