More “green today” from Citroen

As part of its ‘green today’ thinking, Citroen is now running its UK Head Office based diesel cars and vans, including all those used by the Press, on environmentally friendlier 30% bio-diesel.

Reducing CO2 emissions by around a fifth, the blend of ordinary diesel and processed vegetable oil can be used in all current Citroen diesel vehicles, without any technical modification.

“This latest development further endorses Citroen as one of the greenest vehicle manufacturers, offering affordable Green alternatives today, rather than just tomorrow,” says Xavier Duchemin, managing director, Citroen UK.

The Company currently produces three of the four best performing diesels according to the Government’s latest fuel consumption and emission figures, and offers
market-leading technologies, like the fuel saving Stop & Start and ultra-clean Diesel Particulate Filter systems. It has also downsized its diesel engines to offer better economy with similar performance.

Experts suggest that bio-diesel could have an overall whole life-cycle effect of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40-60% over ordinary diesel engines, taking account of the combined reduction in emissions as well as the energy used in the extraction or growing of the fuel.

The high profile promotion of 30% bio-fuel comes at a time when the EU is pressing hard for increased production of plant-derived products. Brussels has tasked the motor and oil industries with collectively reducing CO2 emissions to 120g/km by 2012, compared to the current average of 160g/km. Meanwhile, the Government’s Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation is targeting sales of bio-fuels to account for 5% of all fuel by 2010 – a twenty-fold increase over today’s sales.

Citroen is sourcing the 30% bio-diesel from Total - the biggest distributor of bio-fuel in the World and with whom the Company has a long standing relationship - which means that the quality of the fuel is guaranteed. This move shows that Citroen is ready today, in advance of the fuel becoming widely available for retail use.

To further incentivise production and sales, lobbyists and industry experts are calling on the Government to introduce additional measures to encourage its use, ensure production is tied to quality standards and improve availability to the end user.

Earlier this year, the Government’s Transport Minister, Stephen Ladyman, highlighted the need to promote “a responsible, sustainable and environmentally sound, yet practical and workable adoption” of bio-fuel technology.