Volvo Launches iPhone App Which Shows the True Picture of a Car's Impact on Air Quality and Human Health

MARLOW, UNITED KINGDOM – October 5, 2010: Any driver buying a new 60-registered car can now find out its true impact on air quality and human health thanks to the launch of a free iPhone App by Volvo, in association with www.cleangreencars.co.uk.

Following on from the launch of the Emissions Equality campaign in July, Volvo’s App reveals the toxic emissions of the four pollutants which impact local air quality and human health: carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, hydrocarbons and particulates.

It's these toxic emissions that give the UK one of the highest recordable asthma rates in the world and which the Environmental Audit Committee predicts will contribute to 50,000 premature deaths each year.

The Volvo App splits toxic emissions into seven bands - Band A includes cars with toxic emissions of between 0-275mg/km, rising to Band G cars with toxic emissions of over 600mg/km. By using the App, the driver can search for their specific make and model of car and a Best-In-Class button immediately identifies the car with the lowest toxic emissions in that sector.

The App is available for the iPhone and has been built by www.cleangreencars.co.uk using data supplied by the Vehicle Certification Agency (www.vca.gov.uk), the Government agency which publishes the official environmental details of all new cars sold in the UK. The App is available at http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/emissions-equality/id389567557?mt=8 once iTunes is downloaded onto a PC.

This data dispels the myth that small is always beautiful from an emissions perspective. For instance a Volvo V70 2.5 petrol manual estate generates 201mg/km of toxic emissions, compared with the 1.2 litre Fiat 500 Start Stop supermini, which at 425mg/km generates more than twice as many toxic emissions as the Volvo.

Volvo’s App shows the ‘dirtiest’ car on sale generates a hefty 2080mg/km of toxic emissions, with a number of others emitting over 1000mg/km. By contrast the cleanest car in the UK is the Skoda Yeti 1.2 105PS which generates 49mg/km of toxic emissions, followed by the Nissan Qashqai+2 2.0 4x2 (71mg/km) and the Honda Insight 1.3 IMA S/SE (73mg/km).

Volvo product performs generally quite well with the C70 2.4 170PS generating the lowest emissions (121mg/km – Band A) in the small sports sector, while the S40 D5 Geartronic sits in Band A of the Compact Executive Sector at 271mg/km.

“We proved earlier in the year that just because a driver is buying a small car doesn’t necessarily mean they are buying a low tailpipe emission car,” explained Volvo Car UK’s managing director Peter Rask, Regional President for Volvo Car UK, Ireland and Iceland.

“What our Emissions Equality programme aims to do is to help drivers make more informed decisions by giving them access to the total emissions data of their car. Ultimately by using the information on our App, drivers can genuinely help improve local air quality,” he added.

In conjunction with the new App, Volvo Car UK has also launched an online Facebook petition to mobilise the masses to try and influence Government into mandating the information contained in the App to be available in all car dealerships. Details can be found at www.facebook.com/insidevolvouk.