Green NCAP publishes results of tests under new rating scheme

MANILA: Green NCAP has released the results of six vehicles tested under its updated rating scheme. The all-electric Audi Q4 e-tron sportback received five stars, while the 48V-mild-hybrid Hyundai Bayon, the Renault Kangoo TCe 130, and the Volkswagen Caddy 1.5 l TSI each received 2.5 stars. The Peugeot 308 1.2L PureTech received two stars while the Genesis GV70, which has a 2.5-liter gasoline engine, only received one star.

In 2022, the Green NCAP test procedures and rating scheme have been updated to better reflect the rapidly changing technology and sustainability trends, as powertrain technologies evolve and the automotive industry moves quickly toward electrification.

In a statement, Green NCAP Technical Manager Aleksandar Damyanov said, “Until today, our assessments covered tank-to-wheel evaluation only. Cars obtained a star rating based on their emissions and efficiency performance from charging point or fuel pump to performance they delivered on the road. Green NCAP’s new rating covers a Well-to-Wheel+ greenhouse gas assessment, signifying a much broader approach.”

This indicates that the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the extraction, production, and distribution of energy from the source (“well”) are added to the measured tailpipe emissions (“wheel”). The “+” indicates that the development of power plants and refineries is also being taken into consideration, but not yet the actual car and battery production. The rating is still based on the outcomes of various laboratory roller-bench tests and real-world on-road tests, but vehicles are now put through a two-stage testing procedure. Vehicles that performed well in the first stage of testing are qualified for the second stage, which demonstrates the robustness of their performance under more difficult conditions.

In the first batch, only the Audi Q4 e-tron was qualified for the additional robustness testing. This large SUV performed well in all three parts of the assessment — Clean Air, Energy Efficiency, and Greenhouse Gases — because it is a fully electric vehicle with zero tailpipe emissions and a highly efficient powertrain assumed to be charged with the average European electricity mix as forecast for the next 16 years. The Q4 only lost a fraction of points in the cold ambient and highway tests.

The Volkswagen Caddy received a reasonable 2.5 stars, but its Clean Air Index would have been much higher if the ammonia emissions had been better managed. On the other hand, the Renault Kangoo effectively controlled all pollutants but lost points for its higher energy consumption and related greenhouse gas output. The powerful Genesis GV70 luxury SUV struggled to earn high ratings because of its high fuel consumption, and at the same time, it also fell short with respect to its ability to effectively control pollutants. As a result, it received just one green star.

“The new Well-to-Wheel+ rating of greenhouse gases gives a much more realistic assessment of the real environmental impact of cars, whether they are combustion-engined, electric or some combination of the two,” Damyanov added. “With the new approach, we hope to encourage the understanding that not only delivering a clean end product is important, but the whole process should be made greener and transparent. Going further, also vehicle and battery production must find its way into the rating system, however, at the moment even the best analyses are not accurate enough to allow us to do this. We are, however, working toward a holistic life-cycle based methodology and recently introduced a full life cycle assessment for consumer information purposes only.”

Photos from Green NCAP

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