PSA, the manufacturer of Peugeot, Citroën and DS cars, has published real-world fuel consumption data for 58 of its models that makes it possible to estimate the consumption of more than 1,000 versions of these vehicles. The measurements were made with a protocol developed together with T&E and its member France Nature Environnement (FNE), and supervised by Bureau Veritas, an independent certification organisation.
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The average gap between test and real-world performance for DS models was 42% and that for Peugeot and Citroen 45%, corresponding closely to the results found by T&E in its Mind the Gap report and demonstrating that the real-world test matches the average performance of drivers.
The manufacturer has just become the second biggest in Europe after acquiring Opel-Vauxhall from General Motors. During a briefing to journalists at the Geneva Motor Show, the executive vice president, quality and engineering, for the PSA Group, Gilles le Bourg, confirmed it was PSA’s intention to expand the publication of real-world information to the newly acquired brands.
The Geneva briefing also launched a new online tool to estimate for 1,000 different versions of PSA cars the fuel consumption based on the actual use of the vehicle (number of passengers, load, driving style, etc). The application is available in six countries: France, Germany, UK, Italy, Spain and Switzerland, and there are plans to introduce it in every European country.
T&E’s clean vehicles director, Greg Archer, said: ‘The partnership with PSA Group shows on-road tests to measure real CO2 emissions are reliable, representative and reproducible. Also that a car company recognises there is consumer demand for robust real-world information. In an era of ‘alternative facts’ and dishonest manipulations of emissions tests, one company has seen transparency and openness as the way to re-establish trust with its customers – more carmakers need to follow its lead.’
PSA is the first carmaker to carry out such on-road tests for fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
