The latest set of new car CO2 emissions data from vehicles registered in the EU has been published this week, showing significant improvements across member states, with average new car CO2 emissions down almost 4% since 2010 to 140g CO2/km.
Published by the European Commission, the data collated by the European Environment Agency, showed approximately 13 million new passenger cars were registered in the EU in 2010 and the decline in average new car CO2 emissions shows vehicle manufacturers are on track to meet the 2015 emissions target of 130g CO2/km.
More than two million new cars were registered in the UK in 2010 and performance across the new car market saw average new car CO2 emissions fall slightly more over the same period – down 4.5% to 138.4g CO2/km. Since 2000, average new car CO2 emissions have fallen more than 23% thanks to industry investment in R&D and new low carbon vehicle technologies.
2010 was the first year of monitoring emissions data and the process consists of data collation from EU member states, followed by verification by the vehicle manufacturers themselves to ensure a balanced assessment by the Commission.
From 2012, the confirmed emissions will serve as a basis for calculating any excess premiums for manufacturers not meeting their targets.