Emissions from green cars improve by 21%
There has been a 21% reduction in the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of class-leading green cars over the last four years. This compares with the average industry reduction of 13% across all cars for a similar period.
This is a finding of Green-Car-Guide.com, the UK’s original green car news website, which celebrated its fourth anniversary in September.
The figures are an average for the best-in-class cars in the Green Car Guide, which features leading low-emission cars in 10 different categories. The class winners in the first Green Car Guide in October 2006 have been compared with the latest guide, which is viewable for free on the newly updated Green-Car-Guide.com site.
Green-Car-Guide.com founder and editor Paul Clarke comments, “It is excellent to see the progress of green cars over the four years since we founded Green-Car-Guide.com. These figures show that class-leading green cars have become more efficient faster than the industry overall. This also comes at an interesting time: the 2010 Paris Motor Show is indicating that all manufacturers are now taking the issue of green cars very seriously. The next challenge is the transition from low-carbon cars to ultra-low-carbon cars that are also great to drive and affordable.”
The average emissions of the class-leading cars in the Green Car Guide (petrol, petrol-electric hybrids or diesel, but excluding electric) in October 2006 were 131.1 g/km CO2. Today, the average of the leading cars in each category is 102.8 g/km CO2. This is a fall of 28.3 g/km, 21.59%, over four years.
This compares with figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) that showed that the average emissions for all cars sold in the UK in 2006 were 167.2 g/km CO2. Four years later in July 2010, this figure had dropped to 145.2 g/km – a reduction of 22 g/km CO2 or 13.2%.
As we enter a period when electric cars will be going on sale from the mainstream manufacturers, there will be even more drastic reductions in the CO2 emissions from class-leading green cars, though the emissions from generating the energy used to recharge electric vehicles still needs to be taken into account.
Green-Car-Guide.com provides consumers with news, reviews and features about the latest low-emission and fuel-efficient cars, and works with several partners, including the Energy Saving Trust.
Tim Anderson, consumer transport manager, Energy Saving Trust, says, “The Energy Saving Trust has recently joined forces with Green-Car-Guide.com to help provide car buyers with high-quality and engaging advice on buying the greenest cars. Since the launch of Green-Car-Guide, there has been a massive increase in the number of low-emission cars available. Helping consumers with simple advice on how to choose the best car is the Energy Saving Trust’s aim. This advice is augmented with independent news and views from Green-Car-Guide.com. By working together, we can bring this advice to life for consumers and hopefully reach more people with the message that driving a green car can also be fun, stylish and practical.”
EcoForecourt.com is also a partner. James Walker, founder, EcoForecourt.com, adds, “Our aim at EcoForecourt is to get more people into greener cars. With the help of Green-Car-Guide.com and its comprehensive news, reviews, guides and advice we aim to positively influence consumers about lower emission cars.”
The team behind Green-Car-Guide.com has a unique combination of knowledge about green cars and about wider environmental issues. Green-Car-Guide.com is part of RSK Group, the UK’s largest independent multidisciplinary environmental consultancy and one of the fastest growing companies of its kind in Europe.
