A method to measure the real energy performance of road vehicles: a tool to promote transport decarbonization

Abstract

In the context of growing global efforts to mitigate climate change, achieving effective decarbonization of the transport sector has become a top policy priority. A critical requirement for this transition is the ability to evaluate the real energy efficiency of vehicles using a robust, low-cost, repeatable, and reproducible method that enables fair comparisons between vehicle technologies and supports the adoption of the most efficient technologies. The use of high-frequency real operational data, primarily available in heavy-duty vehicles, known as telematics systems, is proposed to address that need. This dissertation contributes to the development of such methodology by: • Determining the actual specific fuel consumption (L/km) baseline by monitoring the regular operation of more than one thousand vehicles in Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Chile. • Developing and validating a method for assessing the real energy efficiency of road vehicles based on telematics data. The method was tested using high-frequency (~1Hz) operational variables from 49 vehicles under real-world conditions. The method proved to be repeatable, scalable, and applicable to various technologies and regions. Unlike conventional indicators such as specific fuel consumption (L/100-km or L/100 t-km) or CO2 emissions (gCO2/km or gCO2/t-km), this efficiency metric enables transparent, cross-technology comparisons. • Designing an energy efficiency labeling program based on the efficiency metric proposed in this study, applicable to new-brand vehicles. This program aims to serve as a public policy tool that promotes the adoption of more energy-efficient vehicles, leading to an estimated 12% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to the baseline, in support of national greenhouse gas reduction targets.