Greg Archer, programme manager for clean vehicles at T&E said: “Fuel economy standards are good for jobs and European economy, good for drivers and good for the planet. This is a sound proposal, but the benefits could have been even greater had the Commission shown more ambition."
The Commission says the average new car sold in 2020 should emit no more than 95 grammes of CO2 per kilometre. CO2 emissions and fuel efficiency are directly linked. Based on today’s fuel prices, the average driver would save around €500 a year on fuel bills compared to current vehicles, if the 95g target set by the Commission for 2020 becomes law. The costs of technology would pay back in around a year, delivering lower costs of ownership.
T&E says the proposal should have gone further: an 80g target for 2020 is feasible and affordable and would save drivers around € 650 per year. And even more substantial savings could have been possible if a 2025 target of 60g CO2 had been set.
The organisation also warns that a number of loopholes in the proposed legislation will be bad news for drivers and the environment. One of such loopholes is the proposal to include so-called ‘super-credits’, that give manufacturers fuel efficiency credits for more electric cars than they have actually sold.
The Commission has also decided to stick to an outdated method to distribute efforts across carmakers, by favouring those car manufacturers that make heavier cars. This undermines lightweighting efforts, key to achieve improvements in fuel efficiency.
Greg Archer added, “The Commission should have given additional rewards for making cars lighter, rather than heavier – this was a missed opportunity."