Green car emissions improve by 21% in 4 years

According to green car news website Green-Car-Guide.com there has been a 21% reduction in the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of class-leading green cars over the last four years.
This compares with the average industry reduction of 13% across all cars for a similar period.

The figures are an average for the best-in-class cars in the Green Car Guide, which features leading low-emission cars in 10 different categories. The class winners in the first Green Car Guide in October 2006 have been compared with the latest guide.

Paul Clarke from Green-Car-Guide.com comments, “It is excellent to see the progress of green cars over the four years since we founded Green-Car-Guide.com. These figures show that class-leading green cars have become more efficient faster than the industry overall. This also comes at an interesting time: the 2010 Paris Motor Show is indicating that all manufacturers are now taking the issue of green cars very seriously. The next challenge is the transition from low-carbon cars to ultra-low-carbon cars that are also great to drive and affordable.”

The average emissions of the class-leading cars in the Green Car Guide (petrol, petrol-electric hybrids or diesel, but excluding electric) in October 2006 were 131.1 g/km CO2. Today, the average of the leading cars in each category is 102.8 g/km CO2. This is a fall of 28.3 g/km, 21.59%, over four years.

This compares with figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) that showed that the average emissions for all cars sold in the UK in 2006 were 167.2 g/km CO2. Four years later in July 2010, this figure had dropped to 145.2 g/km – a reduction of 22 g/km CO2 or 13.2%.

As we enter a period when electric cars will be going on sale from the mainstream manufacturers, there will be even more drastic reductions in the CO2 emissions from class-leading green cars, though the emissions from generating the energy used to recharge electric vehicles still needs to be taken into account.