New French contrôle technique gives diesels hard time

The main target is vehicles putting out a cloud of dark smoke and industry analysts say it will be difficult for diesels more than 15 years old unless they have been well maintained and regularly decoked.

Changes last year saw the number of recalled vehicles rise by 5% to 24% as a number of new criteria were applied.

The new test sees testers pressing harder and longer on the accelerator and vehicles must be within 25% of the factory pollution settings.