"Volkswagen produced 22.7% of EU's dirty diesel cars, triggering NOx air pollution in EU cities."

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In 2018, air pollution in the EU-28 caused 379,000 premature deaths^7;p7. Transport is the first cause of air pollution in Europe^7;p32. Road transport's main contribution to air pollution is nitrogen oxides (NOx)^7;p36. NOx pollution causes 55,000 deaths annually in Europe^7;p107, and road transport accounts for 39% of total Europe NOx emissions^7;p36. NOx pollution in European cities is of special concern: a 2019 report underlines that the top ten cities in terms of pollution-related deaths are all in Europe¹ and 4% of the European population is exposed to NOx concentration above WHO standards^7;p8.

Volkswagen is the largest car manufacturer worldwide with brands including Volkswagen, Skoda, and Audi. The average lifespan of a car in Europe is 10.8 years^2, and the total EU motor vehicle fleet amounted to 280M in 2019². Since Volkswagen sold 37M cars in the EU between 2009 and 2019³, approximately 13% of total road transport vehicles in the EU, were produced by the Volkswagen group.

Nitrogen oxides result especially of diesel engine vehicles, which represent 45% of the EU fleet² and emit on average 10 times more NOx than petrol engine vehicle^4;p1. Among them, 'dirty diesel ', designated as cars with NOx emissions twice above the limit, represent 51 million vehicles in 2019⁵, 11.6 million of which come from VW group⁵. This means the Volkswagen group produced 22.7% of high emitting NOx cars in Europe.

Despite the 2015 diesel-gate scandal (revealed NOx emissions of VW cars were as high as 40 times above standards⁶), Volkswagen remains a major seller of diesel cars. Diesel cars made up 43% of orders in 2018⁸. Therefore VW participates in the continuation of the pollution situation in European cities.

Volkswagen diesel cars sold over the last decade play a significant role in NOx pollution in European cities. The company must take measures to set a path towards reducing the impact of its products during its use time.

Sources

1. https://www.transportenvironment.org/news/cities-where-chances-dying-transport-pollution-are-highest-are-all-%E2%80%A6-europe

2. https://www.acea.be/statistics/tag/category/vehicles-in-use

3. https://carsalesbase.com/volkswagen-group-europe/

4. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.transportenvironment.org/sites/te/files/publications/2015_09_Five_facts_about_diesel_FINAL.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjzoM2hwLzuAhUOCxoKHYQ-BjAQFjABegQIAhAF&usg=AOvVaw1M4Gdy4CMWhWF5lxFknzJb

5. https://www.transportenvironment.org/press/there-are-now-51-million-dirty-diesel-cars-eu%E2%80%99s-roads

6. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-34324772

7. https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/air-quality-in-europe-2020-report

8. https://www.volkswagen-newsroom.com/en/press-releases/volkswagen-customers-order-more-diesel-vehicles-4615

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