A row is brewing between Germany and France over how luxury cars will be treated under European Commission legislation to cap CO2 emissions.

Germany has been pressing for more leeway to be given to luxury and sports cars but this has upset France, whose automobile manufacturers focus on smaller, more fuel-efficient cars.

Now the row has gone public, with French environment minister Jean-Louis Borloo writing in the Financial Times: “By virtue of the polluter-pays principle, those with the biggest pollution should make the biggest progress in reducing emissions.

“Nothing justifies giving a bigger right to pollute to the buyer of a bigger vehicle.”

But Germany is proposing that heavier cars could emit more CO2 than the preferred 130g/km cap.

The row comes as campaign group Transport and Environment noted that in 2006, German manufacturers increased CO2 emissions from newly-sold cars by 0.6% on average.

French and Italian car makers reduced emissions by 1.6%.