The European Parliament has passed draft legislation in response to the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal. The new bill would boost oversight and increase fines, in an effort to prevent a repeat of the emissions cheating. The new rules could also see diesel powered cars disappearing from roads faster than expected.
The draft bill would see large fines placed on automakers found in violation, up to $43,000 CAD per vehicle. If fines that big were in place previously, then VW could have been looking at a $500 billion fine.
The law would separate automakers from the private labs or agencies that complete the testing. The EC found their relationship to be a little too close, and EU nations would now have to fund testing centers themselves. Expect fees to be levied against automakers to cover the cost of that testing. The Commission would also be able to spot-check vehicles, verifying compliance and levying fines to vehicles found in violation.
It's a more complicated system than the current one and one that may have the effect of speeding up the reduction of new diesel cars in Europe. Automakers including Volvo have already expressed concerns that diesel is on its way out of style, but speaking after today's announcement, European Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska said "diesel will not disappear from one day to another, but after this year of work... I am quite sure they will disappear much faster than we can imagine."
The new law still needs to be finalized, and will likely see heavy negotiations between lawmakers, the European Commission, and member states before it's done. And while the new European regulations wouldn't directly affect Canadian rules, a drop in diesel cars in their main market will likely put a damper on the availability of diesel cars here.
