Low carbon cars take a third of the market

Average carbon emissions from new cars in Europe went down by nearly 4 per cent in 2010, a study has found.

The European Environment Agency claims the drop, which is the second largest ever to be recorded, will encourage manufacturers to make fewer gas guzzlers and more ‘carbon friendly’ vehicles.

Last year’s reduction means the average CO2 emissions of car’s registered in the European Union was 140g/km, down from

EU Climate Commissioner, Connie Hedegaard, said that these figures show that setting carbon emissions reduction targets can help to stimulate the automotive sector into producing greener vehicles.

The results put the EU on track for its ambitious target of 130g/km by 2015.

Cars with emissions of below 120g/km now have nearly a third of the market share.

The report from the EU’s environment watchdog, the European Environment Agency, showed the lowest average emissions from new cars sold in Denmark and Portugal, largely confirming a report in March.

Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands and Sweden recorded the largest annual reductions, of about 8 percent on average.

Carbon commentators expect companies that are showing commitment to the carbon agenda to reduce fleet car emissions across the board.