THE average carbon dioxide emissions from new cars registered in the European Union last year fell to 164g/km, from 169g/km the year before, as car manufacturers made further progress towards their voluntary commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions of their vehicles.

The figures are revealed in the 2001 Monitoring Report of the Commitment on Co2 Emission Reduction of Passenger Cars which was signed by the EU Commission and the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) in 1999.

A key objective of the commitment is to achieve a 140g/km level by 2008.

Commenting on the figures, ACEA president and PSA Peugeot Citroen chairman Jean-Martin Folz said: 'These results are encouraging and show that the European automotive industry is continuing to deliver what it has agreed.'

ACEA say the key 2001 figures are:

The average C02 emission level of the ACEA new car fleet, both petrol and diesel, was of 164 g/km, which represents a reduction of 2.5% with respect to 2000 (169g/km). The 2001 figure is below the 2003 target range of 165 – 170g/km.

In line with another objective of the ACEA commitment, more than 306,000 cars with C02 emission levels under 120g/km were sold in 2001, accounting for more than 2.5% of total sales.

An ACEA spokesman said: 'This good performance has been made possible by the continuous introduction of new technologies, the progressive introduction of diesel cars on the market and by the ongoing progress in fuel efficiency.

'The Europe automotive industry's commitment is the main single contributor to Europe's reduction of C02 emissions, and strongly supports the leading role taken by the European Union in the fight against global warming laid down by the Kyoto protocol of 1998.'