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Opel Announces Voluntary Early Compliance with WLTP, RDE

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2016 Opel Astra

2016 Opel Astra
Photo: © General Motors

Opel announced last week that it is going to begin taking steps to better meet future emissions guidelines by publishing fuel consumption numbers recorded under the Worldwide Harmonized Light Duty Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) cycle beginning in Q2 2016. It was also announced that Opel has already instructed its diesel engineers to implement NOx emission improvements on Selective Catalytic Reduction diesel applications.

Opel states that these decisions are being made as early adherence to the Real Driving Emissions legislation that will take effect beginning in 2017.

“The events and discussions in the last weeks and months have shown that there is a tremendous focus on the automotive industry and it is now time to act based on the learnings,” says Opel Group CEO Dr. Karl-Thomas Neumann. “It is obvious to me that the diesel discussion is a turning point. The world is not as it was before. We cannot ignore this and it is in the hands of the automotive industry to change the perception of the new reality.”

The first model to have its WLTP fuel consumption numbers published will be the Astra. The WLTP cycle will replace the EU’s current New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) standard in 2017. More than 43,000 Opel vehicles currently on the road in Europe and including the Zafira Tourer, Insignia, and Cascada will receive new diesel engine calibration once it becomes available.