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Heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) account for some 5% of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions. They present a variety of possible configurations that are deployed depending on the intended use. This variety makes the quantification of their CO2 emissions and fuel consumption difficult. For this reason, the European Commission has adopted a simulation-based approach for the certification of CO2 emissions and fuel consumption of HDVs in Europe; the VECTO simulation software has been developed as the official tool for the purpose. The current study investigates the impact of various technologies on the CO2 emissions of European trucks through vehicle simulations performed in VECTO. The chosen vehicles represent average 2015 vehicles and comprised of two rigid trucks (Class 2 and 4) and a tractor-trailer (Class 5), which were simulated under their reference configurations and official driving cycles.

Pollutant emissions from heavy-duty vehicles impact air quality and have substantial adverse health effects. Regulation is in place to limit the pollutant emissions of trucks and buses, to protect public health and the environment. In this study, we investigated the on-road emissions of modern heavy-duty vehicles in Europe and China compliant with current emission standards, Euro VI and China VI. Two buses and two trucks were measured over several different routes, and the analysis investigated the effect on NOx, PN, NH3, N2O, CO, and CO2 emissions. Additional NOx measurements were performed on seven trucks in Europe. The emissions performance was evaluated using the provisions of the current Euro VI/China VI standards and the available, yet unofficial, Euro VII proposals. The analysis showed that vehicles exhibit high emissions in certain use cases that would be included in the regulatory scope based on the proposed Euro VII approach.