29.7.2010 New Car CO2 continues to fall

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has released new data that shows the average new car CO2 figure fell 4.7% in first half of 2010 to 145.2g/km, compared with the same period in 2009.

"Continued vehicle manufacturer efforts to improve fuel efficiency and cut emissions has further reduced average CO2 output during a better than anticipated first half of 2010," said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive

"The remainder of the year is set to be challenging, especially post the scrappage scheme. All manufacturers are committed to offering ever more efficient products through the introduction of increasingly efficient engines and alternative technologies".

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) were cautious over the concerns, some have, that the rate of improvement may drop, pointing out that new technologies were constantly emerging that could aid in reducing car emissions.

The drive to more efficient cars has in part been caused by the challenging economic climate and the changing tax situation, with a greater emphasis continuing to be placed on less CO2 emitting models. This is only set to increase as the Coalition government promises to be the greenest government ever.

The Scrappage scheme, accelerated the uptake of more efficient new cars, and this trend has continued since, with the average CO2 figure for new cars falling during every month in 201. ‘Signposted’ eco-models such as VW’s BlueMotion and Ford’s Econetic models have contributed to these improvements. Sales of ‘signposted’ eco- models have risen almost 150% in the first half of 2010.

In a timely move, the government yesterday announced that plug-in grants for electric vehicles would be offered from January. The grants are worth up to £5,000 towards an electric vehicle such as the Nissan LEAF, Mitubishi iMiev and Citroen C1 ev’ie. It is hoped that they will offer a boost to car industry in a similar way to the scrappage scheme last year.

Newspress