Germany’s Transport Minister has announced plans to introduce random on-the-spot emissions tests in the wake of the Volkswagen ‘Dieselgate’ scandal.
Speaking to German newspaper Bild, Alexander Dobrindt said that surprise tests would go a long way to help reinstate public confidence in the motoring industry.
Comparing the tests to random drug tests for athletes, he said: “There will be controls on vehicles in the style of doping tests. Unannounced and every year.”
The newspaper stated that the government would consider selecting models from car rental companies at random, with technicians working on a constantly-changing rota to avoid bias.
A draft proposal of the new measures is due to be presented to the Bundestag in Berlin on Thursday, and will also call on the German government to encourage the uptake of electric and hybrid vehicles.
Similar to doping tests for athletes
Last September, it emerged that Europe’s largest carmaker Volkswagen had “cheated” emissions tests in the US by installing software to deceive regulators in some of its diesel-fuelled vehicles.
Since then, there has been a significant clampdown on emissions standards, with several other carmakers coming under the scrutiny of regulators.
Last month, Renault announced it would recall 15,000 new vehicles after coming under the spotlights as part of an investigation on behalf of French authorities on harmful emissions.
Three of the manufacturer’s plants were raided by fraud investigators in January in order to determine whether or not Renault was similarly bypassing emissions tests.
However, both Renault and the authorities were keen to stress that the manufacturer was fully co-operating with investigators and was not guilty of using devices to alter its emissions data.