EU Average New Car CO2 Emissions Down 5.4 Percent in Q1

It looks like the automotive industry’s efforts to protect the environment are showing results, as the average new car CO2 emissions figure decreased by 5.4 percent (year on year) in the first quarter of 2010, reaching 145.6 g/km.

The information was revealed by a study which was released by Clean Green Cars and also shows that there are currently three mainstream manufacturers who’s range falls bellow the EU 2012 target of 130 grams per km. These are Toyota (124.55 g/km), Fiat (124.61 g/km) and Mini (129.98 g/km). They are followed closely by Hyundai, who posted a figure of 131.02 g/km.

“We are now seeing real progress by some mainstream car manufacturers on CO2, but there are still wide variations in performance,” commented Jay Nagley, Publisher of Clean Green Cars.

At the other end of the scale, we find the German premium automaker Mercedes, who has an average CO2 emissions figure of 173.83 g/km, over 20 g/km inferior to those posted by rivals Audi and BMW.

“Car manufacturers talk about the “glidepath” - the rate of decline needed to get from where they are today to where they need to be in 2012. Any mainstream manufacturer with a figure of much over 140 g/km of CO2 is going to have to work very hard to get their average down, while the big premium brands need to be in shouting distance of 150 g/km,” stated the press release.

The industry is currently on the road to bring the average CO2 emissions figure to 130 g/km by the end of next year, targeting a 5 percent yearly reduction.