Briefing

How clean are Europe’s cars 2014 – Part 1

May 26, 2014

The EU set legally-binding targets for new cars to emit on average 130 grams of CO₂ per kilometre (g/km) by 2015 and 95g/km by 2021. This briefing, the first part of T&E’s ‘How clean are Europe’s cars 2014’, analyses the official data from the European Environment Agency on progress towards these targets made by carmakers in 2013. The second and third part of the report will cover electric vehicles and supercredits as well as the gap between carmakers claimed fuel economy and the real world figure.

The main findings of the How Cleans are Europe’s cars 2014 edition are:

1. Five out of seven European carmakers are on track to meet their CO₂ targets by the 2021 deadline, if they keep progressing as they have since the introduction of the law in 2008

2. Volvo, Toyota, Peugeot-Citroen, Renault, Ford and Daimler will all hit their targets early while VW and Nissan are on schedule. On the other hand, if they don’t accelerate their current rate of CO₂ reduction, Fiat would miss their target by one year (2022) and BMW by three years (2024).

3. Contrary to claims by the German industry, the data shows that the ability of car brands to meet fuel efficiency standards resides in company strategies rather than the type and size of cars they produce.

4. Last year, Renault displaced Fiat as the manufacturer of the lowest-carbon, most fuel-efficient vehicles.

5. Volvo reduced the emissions of its fleet by 8%, the biggest annual reduction recorded in 2013.