Japanese fleet gets heavier with weight-based standards

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Japan introduced a system in 1998 that offered less stringent emissions limits to heavier vehicles. Supporters of the idea say it has not led to a heavier fleet, but research by T&E shows that this is for other reasons, such as parking and tax benefits for owners of the smallest ‘kei’ cars.

The briefing paper ‘Danger ahead – why weight-based CO₂ standards will make Europe’s car fleet dirtier and less safe’ shows that if market share is left out, the Japanese vehicle fleet has got heavier by more than 6% in the first eight years after the weight-based system was introduced. In addition, the average Japanese petrol car increased in weight by 8.4% between 1995 and 2005, 1.2% more than the average European petrol car.

In America, the latest fuel economy limits have got away from the weight-based Cafe standards introduced in 1975 as those led to a 28% increase in average vehicle weight.

T&E is recommending the same standards for all cars, but says if there has to be a differentiation it should be based on ‘footprint’ (track width multiplied by wheelbase) and not weight.

This news story is taken from the December 2007 edition of T&E Bulletin.