Click on the Blue Lion Peugeot for a high res gallery

Continuing the recent European theme of "blue is the new green", Peugeot is adding Blue Lion editions to many of its most popular models. Like VW's BlueMotion models, the Blue Lion editions are tuned to minimize emissions of carbon dioxide. To qualify for the Blue Lion branding models have to emit less than 130 g/km of CO₂, be 95 percent recyclable at end of life and be built in a factory that is ISO 14001 certified. Peugeot claims to have fifty models of its cars right now that meet the 130 g/km of CO₂ standard although its not clear how many of them will meet the other criteria for Blue Lion certification.


[Source: Peugeot]

At the Madrid Motor Show this week, Kia is showing off its latest entry in the low CO₂ derby with the eco_cee'd hatchback. With power coming from 1.6L diesel that automatically shuts off whenever the vehicle is not in motion, the oddly named eco_cee'd is claimed to improve the standard cee'ds 50mpg (U.S.) to 60.3mpg (U.S.). The new variant also goes from a 5 to 6 speed gearbox, adds low rolling resistance tires and the usual array of aero tweaks that get added to such low carbon specials. So far, this one is a concept but a production version is likely before long. The 104g/km CO₂ will appeal to drivers in the growing number of cities that are imposing emissions based taxes and congestion charges.

[Source: AutoCar]

Toyota Motor Europe President Tadashi Arashima says that the company has plans for eighteen completely new or heavily revised models which will emit less than 140 grams of CO₂ per kilometer by the end of next year. Those sound like very ambitious plans but Toyota, which currently averages 149g/km for its line of vehicles in Europe, could be capable of such heroics. If they indeed make this happen, it would mean that half of all Toyotas sold in Europe would meet that low carbon emission target, up from roughly thirty percent last year. Under newly-proposed European Commission rules, Toyota would need to average roughly 127g/km of CO₂ emissions by 2012, so an aggressive mid-range target such as this one might be a necessity.

No indication of how Toyota plans to implement these new standards was given. Interestingly, Arashima suggests that some cost increases would need to be passed on to the consumer, but the Japanese company would take a wait-and-see approach before making any adjustments of its own. Consumer acceptance towards other brands could set a precedent for Toyota to follow.

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