CO2 emissions from all new cars sold in the UK in 2012, showed a drop of over 5%, falling to an average of 132.7 grams per kilometre, whilst the European fleet also continued its downward trajectory,recording a 4% drop to 132.38g/km,according to analysts JATO Dynamics, as reductions in 22 out of 23 European countries as well as most major car manufacturers edged the European Union ever closer to its stated aim of achieving CO2 emissions of below 130g/km by 2015. In fact, already eight countries and nine auto makers have surpassed this target.
The data encouragingly revealed nearly 40 per cent of all new cars now being sold are under 120g/km and therefore classed as ‘low CO2′. Analysts JATO further calculates that nine major car manufacturers have already passed the 2015 130g/km target, with Fiat again, for the sixth year,confirming its place as the lowest emitting volume brand in Europe. Peugeot are in 2nd place very closely followed byRenault,Toyota and Citroen.
All is not totally rosy in the European car industry though as Mercedes,despite achieving a 14.4 reduction still records CO2 emissions of 147.8g/km.While Volkswagen will need to achieve a 30 per cent reduction to drop its CO2 emissions to the 95g/km it this week pledged to deliver by 2020.
Gareth Hession, vice president for research at JATO, said “European car makers continue to make significant CO2 reductions through a combination of smarter engineering and ever increasing sales of both electric as well as hybrid vehicles”.He further added”that new electric and hybrid models,coming from the likes of Ford,BMW and Renault can only help drive forward further CO2 reductions in the coming years”
Eight countries now– Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Holland, Portugal and Spain – already boast average new car CO2 emissions below the 130g/km mark.
Portugal has the least polluting fleet in Europe with emissions of 117.1g/km, but Switzerland’s 151.2g/km firmly puts it at the bottom of the league table.
Perhaps surprisingly,Germany remains behind most of its European counterparts.even though it reduced its emissions to 141.1 g/km,whilst, the UK hovers just above the EU average, at 133.1g/km as estimated by the UK-based Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
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