According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the average new car is producing 3.8-percent fewer carbon emissions so far this year than last. Since 1997, the first year that the SMMT began reporting the figure, the overall CO₂ emissions are down an amazing 16.4-percent. It's not just the vehicles themselves that are getting cleaner, as the entire manufacturing process is cleaning up its act. According to the report, the "energy needed to produce each vehicle is down 12%, water use is down 9% and waste to landfill is down 25%, compared to 2006 performance. CO₂ emissions per vehicle produced have fallen 14% in the last year, and by 45% since 1999 and almost 10,000 tonnes of waste have been prevented from entering landfill sites." Those are mighty impressive figures, and they are only likely to continue to improve as the European Parliament passes tough new legislation. There is a danger, though, that the current worldwide economic conditions will slow the sales of new cars, keeping older, more polluting models on the roads. Of course, the SMMT will continue to monitor the situation in Europe.

[Source: SMMT]

The drama of implementing carbon dioxide emissions limits for European cars continues this week with the latest directional change. This time around, with the French holding the rotating presidency of the European Union, a new proposal has emerged that would see the limits phased in over a three-year period beginning in 2012. Originally, the plan was to have each manufacturer's fleet average no more than 130 g/km of C0₂ emissions by 2012. Under the latest proposal, only 60 percent of an automaker's fleet would have to meet that requirement. Only by 2015 would everything built have to come down to that level. Beyond that, further emissions reductions to 95-110 g/km are proposed by the end of the decade. So far there isn't any indication that any of this will become law. Both the European Parliament and member states have to pass the rules for them to take effect.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

It looks like European automakers are winning their battle against the proposed European Union limits on automotive CO₂ emissions. While the European Commission had proposed a limit of 120 g/km for the vehicle fleet by 2012, manufacturers where claiming the limit was too aggressive. The members of parliament apparently agreed, with the Industry and Energy Committee voting 35-21 to slow things down. Instead of having the entire fleet meet the requirement, only 60 percent of vehicles will have to pass the new threshold in 2012. Over the next several years, through 2015, the rest of the vehicles will meet the standard as well. Extremely low emission vehicles with less than 50 g/km of CO₂ will also be given extra credit counting as 1.5 vehicles in the sales weighted averaging. All electric vehicles will count as three cars until 2015. In a further move sure to make environmentalists apoplectic, the fines for exceeding the limits were slashed from the EC's proposed €95 per gram of CO₂ over the limit to €40 per gram.

[Source: Euractiv.com]

Here's something that could be useful for car makers: a system that calculates a target CO₂ figure based on vehicle weight and the European Commission's so-called 'slope of the line' parameter linking weight to target CO₂ as well as the variance from the target figure and any resulting financial penalties.

That may sound confusing, but carmakers could use this information to avoid the European Commission's upcoming penalties for automakers that pollute over the stipulated level of 130 g/km of CO₂ in 2012. The fine will be €95 for each gram of CO₂ a car emits over the new targets. Before you take out your wallet, remember that this figure is calculated as an average of the complete lineup - so if you're, say, VW, you can average the Bentley Continental with the Seat Ecomotive, Skoda Greenline and the VW Polo BlueMotion. If you're Ferrari, the Fiat 500 will also enter in the figure. In any case, the CO₂ calculator software is available at Spyder Automotive. Read the full press release after the jump.

Picture source: Vintagecalculators.com

[Source: Spyder Automotive]

Now that Jaguar and Land Rover are no longer part of the Ford family, they can't rely on the engineers in Dearborn to provide them with technology they need to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. The new owners from Tata also don't have that expertise in house. With CO₂ emissions limits coming to Europe, Jaguar and Land Rover are in the process of hiring 600 people, many of whom will be engineers with the knowledge required to develop hybrid and electric drive systems as well as other new powertrain technology. The Land Rover LR2/Freelander will get a start-stop system this fall and a production version of the LRX concept is expected to debut in the next couple of years. Jaguar so far hasn't implemented any of these types of systems in its cars, although European models do offer diesel engines.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]

The Slovenian rotating president of the EU (commemorative logo pictured above) has proposed a new, very low figure for average fleet CO₂ emissions. Instead of going modest and demanding automakers lower their average to 130 g/km by 2012, which is the current proposal, the Slovenian president has announced that automakers could go for a stricter limit of 95 g/km by 2020. This would counteract some automakers' statements saying that 2012 models were already being designed and it was too late to make them that efficient. So far, the 27 EU country members are divided. Some countries support their auto industry and have asked for a 130 g/km limit by 2015 while others would prefer tougher limits to be enforced. There are also severe discrepancies on how fines should be applied. We will stay tuned to see if they reach an agreement any time soon.

[Source: Europa Press]

Upcoming fuel economy regulations in the U.S. and carbon dioxide emissions limits in Europe appear set to take a bite out of the next generation Saab 9-3. The current 9-3 is derived from GM's Epsilon platform and the new 9-3 was due to come off the Epsilon II that underpins the new Opel Insignia, but a change may be in the works. GM has reportedly canceled the Epsilon II-based 9-3 in favor of a model built off the Global Compact Car platform that will be the basis of the next Astra/Cobalt and, of course, the Volt. If the new plan, proceeds that would give Saab two cars off the new chassis with the smaller 9-1 being the other. New structural construction technology in the new architecture will apparently help maximize interior space in the smaller car.

[Source: Autocar]

We already mentioned that the UK car market is showing a shift towards more fuel efficient cars. SMMT took out a calculator to find out just how much of a change there is. The group's report is filled with interesting highlights.

The average car sold in the UK currently produces 13 percent less CO₂ than 10 years ago. This is calculated from the total sales figures, which also reveal that almost 40 percent of the new car market produces under 140 g/km CO₂, compared to less than four percent in 1997. In general figures, cars emit 4.8 percent less CO₂ compared to 1997; 68.7 million tons vs 72.2.

Although not as many diesels were sold in the UK as in other European countries (France has 60 percent diesel penetration, Spain 70 percent, for instance), diesels still made up 40.2 percent of the UK marker, compared to 26.5 percent in 1997. One reason is different taxes in the UK compared to other EU countries. The SMMT's report also explains that tax revenue from car drivers is up from £33.8 in 1997 to £45.1 billion. Not bad.

[Source: SMMT]

Photo by kadavy. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Europeans don't monkey around when it comes to cigarette warning labels. Large print, simple messages, and impossible to avoid. Apparently, vehicle advertisements need to be a little more clear about the dangers the vehicle poses to the pocketbook and the environment.

Car ads that references a specific make and model, according to EU directive 1999/94/EC, which passed in December 1999, need to reveal fuel use and CO₂ emissions in way that is easy to read and prominent and "be easy to understand even on superficial contact." While some car advertisements in the EU and UK have come under fire for being misleading (see examples by Toyota and Lexus and Hummer), a researcher at a Belgian university found that almost every single car ad (99 percent) in the EU is illegal.

Examples of what car ads should look like and ways to voice your concern are available at this site, which was set up by ten environmental and greener car groups, including Greenpeace and the Alliance Against Urban 4x4s (4x4 is the British way of saying SUV).

[Source: The Economist, h/t to Jeroen V.]

Most of our readers might not be familiar with LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) but it's a fuel that is very hot in countries like Belgium, Germany, Italy, France and Australia. LPG is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases (propane and/or butane) that is liquefied and then used as a fuel. It is non-toxic and non-corrosive, and it burns cleaner than gasoline or diesel and is much more free of particulates when compared to the latter. However, it's got a lower energy density, with a lower mpg. Still, since many governments impose lower taxes on LPG than other fuels, using LPG is still usually quite cost effective.

I found an article on the French site Moteur Nature that states that low taxes on LPG is actually counterproductive. The reason? The cost of CO₂ per km becomes cheaper, and therefore more pollution hits the air. Since virtually all gasoline cars can be converted to run on LPG, Moteur Nature says this is an open door for people to keep those large SUVs instead of downsizing (I know of a couple such cases among my acquaintances). Here is a good example:

Citroën C2 1.1, a subcompact with a small gasoline engine, pollutes 141 g of CO₂ per km. It burns 5.8 l/km (40.5 mpg). At France's price of gasoline, 1.35 EUR/liter (that's like 7.8 USD/gallon), we have to spend 78.29 EUR to run 1000 km and we'll produce 141 kg of CO₂.

Then, take a more polluting car: Ford C-Max 2.0, a compact people mover. It pollutes 169 g of CO₂ per km. It burns 10.5 l/km (22 mpg). At France's price of LPG, 0.75 EUR/liter (that's like 4.4 USD/gallon), we'll spend 78.29 EUR to run 1000 km while producing 169 kg of CO₂.

The conclusion is that LPG is not a good solution if we want to reduce CO₂ emissions. Calculating for the complete lifespan of a car (about 150,000 km / 90,000 miles), a car running on LPG will produce 4.2 tons of CO₂. Meanwhile, Germany just reduced government support for biofuels but has kept tax breaks for LPG. Moteur Nature is against that policy.

[Source: Moteur Nature]

SNCF, the public French railways company, has - no surprise - a website dedicated to travel. The interesting feature on this website is that it calculates how much CO₂ your trip produces depending on the transport method you choose, giving you the choice between plane (including low-cost companies), train and private car.

For instance, a trip from Paris to Nice shows that the trip by train costs 177.40 EUR, takes 6 hours 45 minutes and a carbon index of 10. The same trip by air shows a cost of 209.98 EUR, it takes 1 hour 35 minutes and has an index of 206. Finally, making the same trip with a car costs 322.21 EUR, it takes almost 9 hours and has a carbon index of 373.

The carbon index indicator is calculated by the average passenger CO₂ production figures per km, multipled by 2 and then by the distance (you can read the rules here).

Related:

• Study shows High Speed Trains emit less carbon than planes
• Carbon Catalog update, now it's twice as good

[Source: SCNF]

British website cleangreencars.co.uk has released three reports that show the improvements (and the negative numbers) that the UK car industry made from 2006 to 2007. Overall, cars sold in the UK improved the average CO₂ production figures by 1.16 percent from 166.32 to 164.39 g/km. As you can see, there is still a long way to go until the expected average of 130 g/km for 2012.

The best improvement figures came from the Mini (which turned in CO₂ numbers that are 17.32 percent better), followed by Jeep (10.83 percent), BMW (6.48 percent), Mitsubishi (6.29 percent) and Land Rover (4.10 percent). Note that this is just measuring improvement. The top five marques with the lowest CO₂ emissions in 2007 were Fiat (142.15 g/km), Peugeot (146.04) , Daihatsu (146.9), Mini (147.26) and Citroën (148.07).

The model with the least CO₂ emissions was the Toyota Prius (104 g/km), followed by the Toyota Aygo/Peugeot 104/Citroën C1 triplets (109) and the Smart Fortwo (116.39). Note, as well, that it's the average figures for a specific model and all versions were considered. CO₂ figures are relevant for British motorists because their road tax is calculated depending on these figures.

[Source: Cleangreencars.co.uk]

Several Environmental organisations in Europe have launched a campaign to request that the European Commission to implement tougher CO2 emission limits on vehicles. According to their sources, road transport accounts for 25 percent of European emissions and in countries like Spain, it reaches 40 percent. While newer cars pollute less than older models, they're also heavier. Add the fact that Europeans are driving more and more and the result is that emissions increase every year.

Back in 1998, automakers announced a gentlemen's agreement to reach an average CO2 emissions of 140 g/km, which now doesn't look achievable (in 2006, the average mark was 160 g/km). This is regarded by these organisations as a dilatory strategy, because automakers are opposing a lower limit of 130 g/km, when the European Parliament is voting on a 120 g/km limit for 2012.

So here's where you can cyberact: you can send an email to the European Parliament to support this initiative and ask your representatives to vote for it. Follow the link to vote from the UK and find other links from other countries.

[Source: Friends of the Earth/Ecologistas en Acción via Econoticias]

Starting right about now, the UK's Department for Transport's 'Best on CO2' car rankings are on the air (if you're familiar with Weird Al's UHF, imagine this announcement being made by Stanley Spadowski). Actually, they're just on the 'net, but I still like that movie. Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick launched the new site today, in conjunction with What Car? magazine.

The Best on CO2 site makes buying a low-CO2 emitting vehicle easier by asking shoppers what kind of vehicle (category, transmission and fuel type) they're interested in, and then spits out a list of models with the lowest CO2 emissions. Pretty slick idea. The database uses emissions information from the DfT's Vehicle Certification Agency and the categories - supermini, small family, family, estate, MPV, compact executive, executive, coupe, open-top, hot hatch, compact 4x4, large 4x4, luxury, performance car - were developed by What Car? Perhaps soon Britain's wealthy will want to check the site out.

Related:

• The U.K. DFT would like to Act on CO2 and tells you how to help

[Source: Department for Transport]

Mid-sized D-Class cars are considered larger cars in the European market and one of the more popular engine sizes in these cars are 2.0L gas engines. With the onset of new EU CO2 emissions limits in the next few years the 2.0L gas engine is expected to become a thing of the past in that class. The recently launched Ford Mondeo currently offers 2.0L and 2.3L four cylinders and both are likely to be replaced by a new 1.6L turbocharged four cylinder.

Ford hasn't released any details of the new engine yet but other companies are getting outputs in the same 120-160hp range of the 2.0-2.3L engines from 1.6L turbos. The advantage of the smaller engines such as the Volkswagen TSI are that they achieve similar power with considerably lower CO2 output especially when direct fuel injection is used.

[Source: AutoCar]