Emissions Analytics Provides "Real On-Road" Fuel Economy Info
DETROIT, April 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- With increased consumer interest in reliable fuel-economy information, UK-based Emissions Analytics (EA) has emerged as a leader in the development and analysis of "real on-road" fuel-economy and emissions data.
As gasoline prices fluctuate and production of hybrid and electric vehicles increases, EA's in-depth test results today are used by car makers and auto suppliers, as well as by automotive publications such as Motor Trend in North America and What Car? in the UK.
EA's business focus is to improve the quality and availability of automotive fuel-economy and emissions data. The company also is developing a miles-per-gallon calculator for light-commercial vehicles in the UK to help customers make fact-based vehicle-purchase decisions.
"In addition to our standard fuel-economy tests, we now can include repeat cycles for light-commercial vehicles fully loaded to maximum payload," said Nick Molden, CEO of EA. "These test results will allow buyers to more accurately gauge fuel consumption based on a vehicle's expected use."
Published reports in the UK predict the number of vans in use will increase at twice the rate of passenger cars in the next several decades. Vans already account for 13 percent of the miles logged on an annual basis in London.
Vans and pickups play an increasingly important role in markets on both sides of the Atlantic. EA's newest testing protocol will help manufacturers and consumers alike understand real-world truck and light-commercial vehicle performance.
The U.S. market is seeing its continued love affair with pickups and utility vehicles on the rise as drivers reap the benefit of falling oil prices. Overall vehicle sales in the U.S. in 2014 were 16.5 million vehicles vs. 15.5 million in 2013. Pickups and sport utility vehicles accounted for 8.6 million in 2014 vs. 7.8 million in 2013.
In the U.S., EA already is testing pickup trucks and comparing their relative performance with respect to factors such as variable payload. EA test engineers, for example, packed a Nissan NV200 with sacks of cement, increasing its payload to 1132 lbs (max payload 1470 lbs) which resulted in a fuel-economy reduction from 25 mpg to 22 mpg.
EA's Real MPG, which is code for real-world mileage information, was used by Motor Trend for the magazine's 2015 Truck of the Year competition. In addition to standard EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) fuel economy numbers, Motor Trend also published EA's Real MPG numbers in its final analysis of Truck of the Year competitors.
Real MPG test procedures and results differ from EPA testing in a variety of ways, including:
- Real MPG results are produced in the real world with actual aerodynamics, true rolling resistance and real-traffic acceleration rates. EPA tests are conducted on a laboratory dynamometer with simulated aerodynamics.
- Real MPG tests better reflect specific driving styles and environments and EA's analytics provide "real-world" mileage results much closer to mileage numbers typical drivers achieve with their cars and light trucks.
- Real MPG measures the effect of air-conditioning use on fuel consumption.
- Real MPG also can provide early fuel economy results for cars before EPA MPG sticker numbers have been published.
As further Real MPG testing gets underway in March 2015, EA plans to publish trends and information based on the result of its real-world testing program in the U.S.
About Emissions Analytics
Founded in 2011, EA is headquartered in Winchester, Hampshire, UK. For additional information on Emissions Analytics visit http://emissionsanalytics.com/ .
EA also shares emissions and fuel-economy data through its website, a subscriber-based newsletter and various social-media outlets. EA can be followed on Twitter at @E_Analytics and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/emissions-analytics .
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SOURCE Emissions Analytics
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