WLTP is the worldwide harmonised light vehicle testing procedure. If you’re a company car driver looking to place a new order, you’ve probably come into contact with this by now, but what is it and what does it mean for you?
As you’ll know, all vehicles are officially rated for CO2 outputs and MPG. The current testing system is known as NEDC. It’s a standardised laboratory test. As such, it doesn’t really reflect real-world driving, particularly as manufacturers have increasingly designed their vehicles to perform to test circumstances.
If I say ‘Volkswagen Emissions Scandal’ you can see why that could be a problem; it’s also the reason why you don’t tend to return the published MPG figures for any given vehicle.
WLTP is designed to address that, with the new test aiming to replicate real-world driving much more closely. Therein lies the problem – tested under the new system, vehicles perform very differently. Most have seen significant increases in CO2 outputs and falls in MPG.
So the short answer is cars will cost everyone more in road fund licence. However, it’s again company car drivers who are worst hit, as not only has their choice reduced (many firms cap CO2) but in addition, they’ll be paying more company car tax.