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21st July 2016

HORIBA MIRA Receives RDE Route Approval from RDW in UK First

• World-leader’s Real Driving Emissions (RDE) routes are the first UK routes to be approved by Dutch approval authority, RDW

HORIBA MIRA – a world-leader in advanced vehicle engineering, research and product testing with capabilities in Real-world Driving Emissions (RDE) testing – has had a number of RDE routes approved by
Dutch approval authority, RDW, in a UK first.

HORIBA MIRA is already a technical service provider for RDW for more than 90 Type Approval subjects, including emissions. With approved RDE routes now in place, HORIBA MIRA is perfectly placed to run RDE certification on RDW’s behalf.

In addition, the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA), the UK vehicle Type Approval authority, has verified that the RDE routes proposed by HORIBA MIRA meet the requirements of the regulation and are therefore happy for these routes to be used for RDE certification testing.

The approved RDE test routes – which satisfy the requirements for normal boundary conditions – are the first RDW approved routes within the UK, with each offering unique and mandatory conditions which will enable HORIBA MIRA engineers to carry out compulsory emissions testing ahead of a change in legislation in 2017. Other RDW approved routes exist in both the Netherlands and in Germany.

Alan Warburton, Powertrain & Emissions Lead at HORIBA MIRA, said: “We are incredibly proud to be have been awarded full approval from RDW on a number of our RDE routes, which allow us to carry out certification RDE testing on behalf of the Dutch approval authority.

“The confirmation from both RDW and VCA is testament to the professional relationships we have with these approval authorities and to the technical services we already provide to them. Witnessed RDE tests on a range of vehicles have already been completed and the data submitted as part of the current RDE monitoring phase.”

With the approval coming significantly ahead of the adoption of RDE ‘Not to Exceed’ limits for tailpipe emissions across Europe (which start in September 2017), vehicle manufacturers have reliable access to a critical new certification partner with proven test capability.

HORIBA MIRA’s RDE test process has been comprehensively designed to provide an accurate and complete measure of vehicle emissions, complying with EU6d type approval standards. As part of its RDE testing, HORIBA MIRA fits passenger vehicles with a HORIBA Portable Emissions Measurement System (PEMS), which provides real-world data of key pollutants emitted by the vehicle.