NEWS RELEASE
London, 26 August 2008 - Top car manufacturers selling vehicles in the UK and elsewhere in Europe are not cutting carbon dioxide emissions from their vehicles fast enough to meet proposed EU targets, Friends of the Earth said today.
New research published today revealing average emissions from new cars sold in the EU in 2007 shows that many of the top names are still dragging their feet on fuel efficiency.
BMW - which manufactures Mini in the UK - performed best out of the 14 car manufacturers researched, with a drop of 7.3 per cent in its average vehicle emissions between 2006 and 2007. But of other UK-based manufacturers, Toyota's emissions fell by only 2.4 per cent, General Motors (which includes Vauxhall) by 0.6 percent, Nissan by 0.5 per cent and Ford (which at the time included Jaguar and Land Rover) by 0.2%. Honda ranked bottom of the table with a 1.1 per cent rise in emissions that year.
Average emissions from new cars sold in the UK decreased slightly from 167grammes of carbon dioxide per kilometre (g/km)/km in 2006 to 164g/km in 2007 - but this was still well above the EU average which fell from 160 g/km in 2006 to 158g/km in 2007.
Friends of the Earth says the results show the urgent need to introduce tough EU carbon dioxide targets for new cars - and is calling on MEPs to vote for these in the European Parliament in the next fortnight.
Friends of the Earth's Senior Transport Campaigner Tony Bosworth said:
"Cutting emissions from new cars will cut road transport's contribution to climate change - and slash fuel bills for drivers who are feeling the pain from petrol price rises.
"BMW's progress in cutting emissions proves that even premium car makers can become greener.
"The car industry as a whole must make much faster progress in designing and building smarter cars that use less fuel for the sake of both drivers and the environment.
"MEPs must stand firm against the self-interested lobbying of the car industry and vote for tough new standards to cut emissions from cars."
Source: Friends of the Earth
Major car makers not cutting emissions fast enough to meet climate targets
