Fiat leads the volume brands on CO2 emissions, says JATO

JATO Consult, the consultancy division of JATO Dynamics, the world’s leading provider of automotive data, has revealed more fascinating facts from its recently completed analysis of European automotive CO2 figures for 2008.

Key highlights of the report reveal that, FIAT has once again achieved the lowest volume-weighted average CO2 figure of Europe’s top selling brands at 133.7g/km, down from 137.3g/km in 2007. Peugeot sits in second place, the only other volume manufacturer to achieve a sub-140g/km figure, with an average of 138.1g/km. Citroen, its PSA sister company, is in third place at 142.4g/km, the only manufacturer to have seen a marginal increase since 2007, thanks largely to the introduction of new larger models into the market. The top five places are completed by Renault (142.7g/km) and Toyota (144.9g/km).

“Looking at emissions in the context of Europe’s best selling brands, the top ten places are held by the same manufacturers as 2007”, says David Di Girolamo, Head of JATO Consult. ”BMWs performance has been exceptional in achieving the highest overall reduction year on year given their product range, but viewed holistically, the entire industry has made significant progress. The average total reduction across the market is 5.3g/km, which in a short twelve month window is something the industry can be very proud of.”

JATO is also quick to point out that manufacturers are achieving reductions despite the factors that are often contrary to lowering CO2 emissions.

Di Girolamo continues: “Introduction of ever tightening safety legislation, and the demand for customer convenience and comfort features is increasing the weight and mass of vehicle structures. Against the odds, manufacturers are producing heavier, safer cars whilst still improving their environmental credentials.”