Reducing CO2 emissions from cars and vans

PRESS RELEASE: Auto industry advocates using full spectrum of solutions to bring down CO2 emissions

Brussels, 17 June 2015 – Ahead of tomorrow’s European Commission ‘Driving Road Decarbonisation Forward’ conference, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) calls for a comprehensive approach to future CO2 emissions reduction.

The automobile industry remains committed to contributing its fair share towards lowering greenhouse gas emissions, namely through fuel-efficiency technologies (eg variable valve timing, turbocharging, stop-start systems and direct injection technology) and continued investment into alternative powertrains. Even when faced with flat or declining sales, the automobile industry has delivered huge environmental improvements, and will continue to do so.

Yet despite the impressive CO2 reductions for new vehicles, progress in reducing overall road transport emissions has not followed the same pace.

“With the Commission consultation on road transport emissions kicking off, and ahead of the COP21 conference in Paris, we have reached a pivotal moment in terms of road transport emissions policy,” stated ACEA Secretary General Erik Jonnaert.

“We believe that we have an historic opportunity to develop a policy framework that will allow us to drive down road transport emissions whilst protecting jobs and growth. However, we need to recognise that there is no magic bullet or single solution. Rather, we need to adopt a comprehensive approach to tackling road transport emissions which draws on the full spectrum of solutions.”

This means not just focusing on continued emissions reduction from new vehicles, but also factoring in the elements that influence overall emissions from vehicles in use. These factors include the carbon content of fuels, driver behaviour, infrastructure and the potential of intelligent transport systems (ITS).

To this end, ACEA is now working in partnership with over 50 relevant stakeholders – including businesses, trade associations, non-profit organisations, research bodies and think tanks – to examine the full potential of this approach for both light and heavy-duty vehicles.

Policy makers should also focus on the most cost-effective measures, so as not to jeopardise the competitiveness of the European automobile industry.

Dr Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler and member of the ACEA Board of Directors, will be representing ACEA at the conference tomorrow, alongside Commissioner Cañete, representatives of the European Parliament, European Council and an environmental NGO.

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More information

A backgrounder on ‘Reducing CO2 emissions from cars and vans’ can be found here: http://www.acea.be/publications/article/backgrounder-reducing-co2-emissions-from-cars-and-vans

About ACEA

ACEA’s members are BMW Group, DAF Trucks, Daimler, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford of Europe, Hyundai Motor Europe, Iveco, Jaguar Land Rover, Opel Group, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Renault Group, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group, Volvo Cars, Volvo Group. More information can be found on www.acea.be or @ACEA_eu .

Facts about the EU automobile industry

Some 12.1 million people – or 5.6% of the EU employed population – work in the sector.
The 3.1 million jobs in automotive manufacturing represent 10.4% of EU’s manufacturing employment.
Motor vehicles account for €396 billion in tax contribution in the EU15.
The automobile and parts sector is also a key driver of knowledge and innovation, representing Europe’s largest private contributor to R&D, with €41.5 billion invested annually.
The automotive sector contributes significantly to the EU trade balance with a €95.1 billion surplus.
Contact

Cara McLaughlin, Communications Director, cm@acea.be, +32 2 738 73 45 or +32 485 88 66 47

Background

The automobile industry in Europe has invested heavily in innovations designed to bring down significantly the CO2 emissions from each kilometre cars are driven. Advances to vehicle engine technology have been supplemented with efforts to reduce the weight of vehicles. As a result, the average new car coming on to the road in 2021 will produce 42% less CO2 per kilometre than the new car bought in 2005.

For now, CO2 emissions from road transport have not decreased as hoped. There are limits to how much more change can be brought to the internal combustion engine and how much further cars can be refined. Therefore, if we are to combat CO2 emissions from road transport, we need a fundamental rethink about how we approach this challenge.

It is vital we maintain the mobility that is essential to our economic prosperity – including the crucial contribution of the automobile industry to jobs and growth – as we seek to mitigate harmful climate change. This means a new comprehensive approach to CO2 emissions reduction which adds a broader conception of how we reduce CO2 emissions per kilometre and takes into account how we also reduce unnecessary kilometres driven (through ITS and infrastructure design), alongside continuing innovations in vehicle technology.

Adopting alternative lower carbon fuels and powertrains will be key. Any commitment to reduce CO2 emissions per kilometre further from the 2020 target of 95g of CO2 per kilometre can only be met through a rise in the market share of alternative powertrain cars. In addition, because of its relative efficiency, any efforts to replace diesel with petrol-driven cars will only make the CO2 emissions situation worse. New, cleaner car models will contribute to lowering the fleet’s CO2 emissions, so encouraging swifter fleet renewal is also vital.

The testing procedure for cars – which includes the measurement of CO2 emissions – is also going to be changed, moving from the current NEDC testing procedure to the much more relevant WLTP, which will better reflect real driving conditions. Even if we insist on further reductions from vehicle operation alone, any new post-2020 CO2 emissions targets should be based on the fully implemented WLTP testing procedure.

We must also ensure that in seeking new approaches for reducing CO2 emissions, we do no create a conflict between Europe’s ambitious climate change policies and the need to protect jobs and growth in Europe. 12.1 million people – more than 1 in 20 of the entire EU population in a job – are directly or indirectly employed by the automobile industry. It is also Europe’s leading R&D industry with €41.5bn invested annually. Given the range of factors that contribute to the level of CO2 emissions from each individual vehicle, it makes no sense for the full burden of reducing CO2 emissions to be borne by the automobile industry alone – especially in the context of a highly competitive global market in vehicle manufacture and industrial production.