Get To Know The New WLTP Homologation Cycle

As of September 2018, a new homologation cycle will come into force for all cars produced, the WLTP. With this new system, 26 years of the NEDC cycle are ended, from which manufacturers took advantage to announce lower-than-real consumption.

Although the idea of ​​replacing the NEDC cycle had been brewing for a long time, there is no doubt that cases such as the well-known Volkswagen ‘Dieselgate’ have forced its introduction this year. Either in emissions or consumption, manufacturers will have a harder time deceiving consumers.

And the main problem with the NEDC cycle was how artificial the homologation process was. Each car was subjected to perfect and unreal conditions of use, as well as the simulated weather. The result of this practice was consumption that was almost impossible to match on a day-to-day basis.

Everything has its end, and in the case of approvals the culprit has a name: the WLTP cycle. This new method is divided into four phases that simulate urban circulation, road, ring roads and highways. In addition, all the tests of the homologation process have been modified, to be as follows.

The total mileage of the test doubles to 23.25 kilometers, while the duration increases by 10 minutes to half an hour. The average speed has been increased to 46 km / h and the maximum to 131 km / h, 12 and 11 km / h more than before respectively.

The time in which the vehicle can stop running will also be reduced by up to 13%, as will the initial temperature of the test to 14º C. The temperature will be variable, unlike the constant 25º C of the NEDC cycle. .

Consumer benefits

With the new WLTP cycle, the consumer will mainly benefit from  knowing what the actual consumption and emissions of the vehicle they are interested in buying will be. Personally, I would not like to buy a car that I like less than another because it spends 2.0 l / 100 km less and then that saving is not true.

Another benefit arises from a consequence. The increase in the official consumption of many combustion cars will make a large number of buyers finally opt for an ecological car, be it hybrid, electric, or adapted to LPG, which will have an impact on cleaner air for all.

Although the WLTP cycle began to be used from February 2017, the sale of cars homologated with the NEDC cycle is still allowed until September of this year, when the WLTP completes its full implementation. These leave us with a stock of 100,000 vehicles in our country in search of an owner this August.

This generous stock must be liquidated, or else they will not be able to be sold, so the consumer will enjoy succulent discounts from the brands.

Consequences

The arrival of the WLTP cycle is not entirely welcome because, despite its improvements, its consequences fully affect consumers, who will have to pay for the broken dishes of some manufacturers who took advantage of a legal loophole to deceive.

The official consumption figure will go up, and although it resembles the real one, it will be the first one that will affect the taxes to be paid once the car is purchased. We are talking about the registration tax, in addition to other taxes that vary according to the community. The more consumption / emissions, the more taxes.

If their approved consumption increases in combustion cars, in the case of electric vehicles, the announced autonomy will be considerably reduced, with variations of up to 20% in some cases.