At this year’s Paris Motor Show it has been clear to see that reducing CO2 emissions is a positive driving force behind innovation. Manufacturers have shown they are ready to deliver with several new production-ready electric vehicles, range extending hybrids as well as innovative ‘green’ concept cars.
However, what really struck me about this year’s Motor Show was how much attitudes have changed. When shown a new prestige vehicle, one of the first questions people are asking isn’t how fast does it go but what are the CO2 emissions? For example Mercedes demonstrated the new S250 CDI which, although it is a large luxury saloon, can do 40 mpg and emits just 149g/km. Land Rover also showed off its new Evoque with a CO2 of just 130g/km.
The continued efforts of vehicle manufacturers to improve fuel efficiency and cut emissions over the past decade has had significant impact with average new car CO2 emissions in the UK falling from 185g in 1999 to 158g in 2008 according to the SMMT. Recent figures from the organisation also show that average new car CO2 emissions fell 4.7% in the first half of 2010 to 145.2g/km compared to the same period in 2009.
Of course there is still some way to go to meet the challenging targets set by the European Parliament under regulation (EC) No 443/2009, which sets out emissions performance standards for all new passenger cars in Europe. The fleet average to be achieved by all cars registered in the EU is 130 g/km from 2015 onwards. A so-called limit value curve implies that heavier cars are allowed higher emissions than lighter cars while preserving the overall fleet average.
These CO2 limits are being phased in gradually with the first key deadline in 2012 when 65% of each manufacturer’s newly registered cars must comply on average with the limit value curve set by the legislation (130g/km). This will rise to 75% in 2013, 80% in 2014, and 100% from 2015 onwards.
There is no doubt that it is these looming deadlines that are putting the pressure on manufacturers to dramatically reduce CO2 emissions but this year’s Paris Motor Show demonstrates that they are clearly rising to the challenge and doing it in style.
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