KEY POINTS:
Vehicle Testing New Zealand has developed its own independent emission test at the request of Tourism Holdings.
The five-star benchmark developed exceeds the equivalent European standard.
VTNZ chief executive Mike Walsh said the protocols developed for Tourism Holdings had been a useful pilot programme for the organisation, which planned to offer the test to all of its 2.5 million customers in the near future.
"As the largest vehicle testing company in New Zealand, emission testing is a natural extension of our primary role in checking cars for their warrant of fitness," Walsh said.
"We believe more and more of our customers will want hard evidence of their vehicles' fuel efficiency and, of course, their environmental impact."
Vehicles that pass either a three or five-star standard will get an emissions label for the windscreen and bumper sticker.
Tourism Holdings chief executive Trevor Hall said the new VTNZ standard was timely given this week's release of the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2015, with its focus on sustainability.
"Preserving New Zealand's beautiful, untouched landscape is vital to THL's business and to the wider tourism industry," Hall said.
"We are committed to ensuring our business has the smallest environmental impact possible on that landscape."
Early results showed nearly all of Tourism Holdings' 1500 strong fleet of rental motorhomes passed the test, the company said.
The VTNZ system
* A machine measures engine speed and temperature.
* A sensor is placed in the exhaust pipe.
* Diesel measure for smoke particulates.
* Petrol measure for unburnt carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons.
* Test takes about 15 minutes to complete
