Part 1 of How Clean are Europe’s Cars 2014, now in its ninth edition, concludes that on the basis of current progress Volvo, Toyota, Peugeot-Citroën, Renault, Ford and Daimler will all hit their targets early while Volkswagen and Nissan are on schedule.

However, current rates of CO2 reduction indicate that Fiat would miss their target by one year (2022) and BMW by three years (2024). Several Asian carmakers will also have to speed up their progress if they are to reach 95g by 2021: Suzuki (2023); Hyundai and Mazda (2025); and Honda (2027).

From 2021, manufacturers face the prospect of a €95 fine for every gram over the target that each new car emits.

The report does not analyse the impact of supercredits, which carmakers can use to artificially cut their emission totals. Nor does it try to account for possible future developments in clean automotive technology.

The findings cast doubt over claims by German car manufacturers that premium brands would need more time to meet the 95g target. T&E say the data shows that a company’s ability to meet fuel efficiency standards is down to its strategy rather than the size and type of its vehicles.

T&E’s clean vehicles manager, Greg Archer, said: ‘The report shows that most European carmakers are well positioned to hit their CO2 targets, irrespective of the size and type of vehicle they sell. Industry claims to the contrary have just been scaremongering. But some carmakers are beginning to lag behind and must raise their game to hit their targets.’

Last year European carmakers hit their 2015 targets at least two years ahead of schedule despite earlier claims that the 130g CO2/km target was unfeasible.

‘With most carmakers making good progress towards 2021 goals, the European Commission needs to consult on 2025 targets as it promised members of the European Parliament it would,’ Archer added.

Part 1 of the report monitors the annual progress made by vehicle manufacturers to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of new cars. It does not allow for the fact that carmakers can use flexibilities in the law to reduce artificially their emission totals. The second and third parts, due later this year, will cover electric vehicles and supercredits as well as the gap between carmakers claimed fuel economy and the real-world figure.

Cars are responsible for around 15% of the EU’s total CO2 emissions and are the single largest source of total transport emissions.