Average European new car CO2 emissions are on course to meet 2015 EU targets, according to JATO Dynamics.

Last year saw the greatest single-year decline in average CO2, as the urge to put cleaner cars on the road was accelerated by the customer demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles, the introduction of CO2 based taxes in some markets and national scrappage schemes across Europe favouring smaller, cleaner cars.

The European new car average is now 145.9 g/km, almost 20 g/km less than 2003 and half of all new cars sold in the 21 countries analysed had official CO2 emissions of 140g/km or less, compared to only 23% in 2003.

David Di Girolamo, head of JATO consult comments “The pace of improvement is remarkable and shows just how rapidly the industry has reacted to environmental demands. In 2003, only 24% of the market achieved an average of 130g/km. This was 40% by 2007, 51% in 2008 and 69% last year, already ahead of the 2012 EU target. This achievement is even greater when set in the context of new cars becoming larger, safer and better equipped, as consumer demands reach ever higher.”
 

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