NEDC (New European Driving Cycle)

NEDC (New European Driving Cycle) was a vehicle emissions and fuel-consumption testing procedure introduced in the European Union during the 1980s and formally standardized in the 1990s. It used a laboratory-based driving simulation combining urban and extra-urban conditions to measure fuel economy, carbon emissions, and pollutant outputs from passenger vehicles. The cycle became widely criticized for producing results that often differed significantly from real-world driving performance because of its gentle acceleration patterns and limited speed ranges. Since 2017, the EU has progressively replaced NEDC with the WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure), which provides more realistic and stringent testing conditions.