Petrol cars are twice as likely to fail the MOT emissions as diesel cars, a new report has shown.
According to official data from the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), 26.2 per cent of all cars failing the MOT test fail on excess exhaust emissions. However, 9.7 per cent of petrol cars failed to meet the emissions standards compared to just 3.9 per cent of diesel vehicles.
The figures, released by Redex, revealed that 49.97million MOT tests were carried out between January 2010 and September 2011, 14.43million of which resulted in failure. Of these failures, 3.78million were caused by excess exhaust emissions.
Bruce Ellis, Research and Development Manager at Redex, said: "There are a number of possible explanations for the marked difference in MOT emissions failure rates between petrol and diesel cars.
"These include the different driving cycles that traditionally are undertaken. Namely, petrol cars are more likely than diesels to be chosen for frequent shorter, urban trips, whereas diesels are more likely to be chosen if the vehicle is to be commonly used for longer, motorway-based journeys.
"Also, diesels operate at lower engine speeds and are therefore a little less stressed than higher revving petrol motors."
"But the most obvious explanation is likely to be the MOT test itself. Petrol cars are assessed for a high number of gases and hydrocarbons in the exhaust emissions, while diesels are tested only for smoke levels.
"This means that relatively speaking, diesels probably have an easier emissions test than petrol-engined cars."
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