Ford emission test and fuel economy problems to be investigated

1. Ford emission test and fuel economy problems to be investigated The company announced on Thursday that the experts will examine the Ford emission test procedures as well. Ford Motor Co said that it has hired experts from outside the company to check its vehicle fuel economy. The company announced on Thursday that the experts will examine the Ford emission test procedures as well. This step has been taken by the company after the employees raised concerns of not knowing whether correct data is going to regulators and consumers. Ford group’s vice president for sustainability, environment and safety engineering Kimberly Pittel said that these investigations will not involve the use any kind of defeat devices that have been built to deceive the government’s emission tests. The automaker since the previous fall has been examining concerns raised by workers that inaccurate data was utilized to make an interpretation of test results into the mileage and emission information submitted to regulators, Pittel said. Ford said it was examining the change that needs to be done in the process it uses to develop fuel economy and emissions figures that include the engineering, technical and governance components as well. The company has hired the Sidley, Austin Law firm to conduct an independent investigation to check the fault in the calculations of the emissions and fuel economy data. Pittel also said that the company is using a separate laboratory to conduct these tests.

2. Pittel also told that Ford has voluntarily shared this information with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board. Pittel said it was not clear what sway the audit will have on publicized mileage or efficiency information submitted to the regulators, nor is it clear what are the number of vehicles that could be influenced if Ford is required to modify the information. "We will go where the examination takes us," she said. Ford expressed its embarrassment in the past by blunders in mileage claims. In 2013, the automaker cut by seven miles for every gallon the asserted efficiency for its C-Max half and half model after objections that certifiable mileage did not coordinate the guaranteed efficiency. In 2014, Ford brought down efficiency evaluations for six different models and offered remuneration to clients. The regulators of U.S. and California have been getting serious about automakers for cheating on emission figures following disclosures in 2015 that German automaker Volkswagen AG had utilized the so-called defeat devices to make models furnished with diesel engines that seemed to comply with the emission norms when they transmitted definitely more pollution than it was permitted.