Car makers will face heavy fines if they supply vehicles designed to cheat emissions tests, the government has announced.
Under the new regulations, manufacturers could be forced to pay up to £50,000 for each new vehicle found to be fitted with a so-called defeat device.
The rules have been brought in following a government consultation which saw overwhelming support for measures to crack down on emissions cheats.
Transport minister Jesse Norman said: “There has rightly been a huge public outcry against car manufacturers that have been cheating on emissions standards. Their behaviour has been dishonest and deplorable.
“These tough new regulations are designed to ensure that those who cheat will be held to proper account in this country, legally and financially, for their actions.”
The Road Vehicles (Defeat Device, Fuel Consumption and Type Approval) Regulations 2018 will be laid in Parliament before coming into force on 1 July 2018.
Following discovery in 2015 that Volkswagen had been using software which caused its car engines to behave differently during emissions tests, the Department for Transport tested a range of the most popular diesel vehicles in the UK. This found that no other manufacturer tested was using a similar strategy to Volkswagen.
Volkswagen reimbursed the British taxpayer £1.1m for the costs of this programme.
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