Average European new car greener than ever

As the Frankfurt Motor Show opens its doors to the world, the average new car being sold in Europe today is now greener than ever, according to a special report by JATO Dynamics.

JATO has found an average 6.2 g/km reduction in the CO2 output of new cars sold by the top 25 brands in H1 2009, with a similar reduction measured in JATO’s 21 monitored EU markets.

The figures underline how incremental improvements to high-volume vehicles can have an impact that far exceeds low-volume hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles, in the European new car market.

David Di Girolamo, Head of JATO Consult, explains: “Our analysis shows how the CO2 output of new cars has dropped significantly this year, with manufacturers’ own efforts in this area boosted by scrappage incentives and economic pressures, which have in turn persuaded customers to buy smaller, more efficient – and less polluting – new cars.

“The effect on new car CO2 is quite pronounced,” he concludes.

JATO’s analysis shows that H1 2009 new car sales for three brands – Smart, Fiat and MINI – are already under the 130 g/km CO2 average, not required under EU legislation until 2015. Fiat’s efforts are the most impressive, considering its volumes and model mix.

However, these brands did not make the outright biggest improvement of all mainstream marques over the past year – that accolade belongs to Alfa Romeo, whose average new car CO2 output fell by 19.9g/ km versus the corresponding period in 2008.

Of course, sales volume is significant when assessing CO2 performance and JATO has created a league table of improvements amongst the top 25 brands by volume.

When isolating the top 25 volume brands, the top spot is taken by Chevrolet, whose diesel Cruze model and 3-cylinder, 0.8-litre, 119g/km Matiz helped its new car sales to a 15.2 g/km average CO2 improvement.

Second in the improvement stakes was Audi, whose 2.0-litre TDi engine helped it to an average of 163 g/km. The German marque is likely to benefit further in H2 2009 sales, from its recently announced, 109 g/km 1.6-litre TDi A3 model and stop-start system.

Toyota, Suzuki, Hyundai and Mazda also recorded double-digit improvements.

Ford was best of the biggest European volume sellers, improving average CO2 by 8.0 g/km as its ECOnetic range and in particular, its new 98 g/km Fiesta ECOnetic, proved popular with customers across Europe.

Di Girolamo concludes: “There are some surprises when you look at the order of CO2 reductions by brand. However, Fiat is still the best performer for average CO2 output by brand.”

The general improvement in CO2 output of new cars is reflected when studied nationally. The effect of national scrappage schemes is a key factor in driving national demand for lower emission vehicles and it is no surprise that these incentives in Western European markets have boosted not only national sales, but specifically those of higher efficiency vehicles, accelerating CO2 reductions.

Germany has recorded an 11.3 g/km average improvement in new car CO2 output, across its H1 2009 sales of 2,059,405.
Of the other major European markets, the UK has recorded an average 8.4 g/km improvement, on its half year sales of 924,955. Italy improved overall by 6.5 g/km and France by 5.7 g/km.

However, the effect of volume is once again apparent, with the greatest improvement in the CO2 output of new cars sold in H1 2009 recorded in the Republic of Ireland, which posted a 17.1 g/km reduction.