CO2 emissions from new cars are rising in France and Europe

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By Aurélien Schuller – Manager

The European Environment Agency has just published [1] the CO2 emissions from new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in 2018. We already knew the corresponding statistics for France. This allows us to gauge how far we still have to go to reach the 2021 target of 95 g CO2/km, both for Europe and France (note that these figures are based on certification protocols, not real-world driving conditions; readers curious about the 95 g CO2 figure may find it helpful to refer to a Previous article from "Décryptage Mobilité").

In both cases, we're nowhere near the mark with a a gap of 20 to 25 percent that will need to be closed by 2020–2021 (It should be noted that in 2020, the targets must be met for 95% of sales of the lowest-emission vehicles, but this requirement no longer applies in 2021; in addition, there are other mechanisms, such as credits and eco-innovations, that can reduce CO2 emissions by a few points). It is noteworthy that Emissions have even been on the rise since 2016 due to the increase in average vehicle weight (“SUV-ization” trend) and the shift from diesel to gasoline engines. A shift from diesel to electric would have been more beneficial from a climate perspective, at least in France, but for now it is gasoline that is primarily benefiting from the decline of diesel in the sales mix, not alternative powertrains. This is a story to watch, as automakers will soon have to sell a large number of electrified vehicles to avoid heavy penalties starting in 2020–2021. Article written by Aurélien Schuller – Manager

Sources: [1] EEA