In Septembers motor show in Frankfurt, Germany many manufacturers had to face the
fact that their efforts had not been enough to reduce emissions where others had seen huge improvements in the amount of Co2 emissions their cars where emitting.
Unfortunately for British manufacturers they are lagging behind their European counterparts in Portugal, Spain and Denmark. Some of the car manufacturers have cut emissions by around five times more than the worst performing manufacturers which is a huge amount considering the need for each EU country to reduce the amount of CO2 their cars are emitting.
BMW are doing especially well from the cars that were sold during 2008 with them cutting emission levels by over 10% (the only manufacturer to hit double figures). One of the reasons they have done so well is that they have introduced efficiency methods into all their ranges. This is something that environmentalists are all urging other manufacturers to do in an attempt to reduce the average emission levels.
Peugeot-Citroen did not produce great improvement levels but this is mainly due to the fact they have been ahead of the field in terms of producing cars that are environmentally friendly for many years. They sit second in terms of average emissions behind Fiat. It is important that manufacturers improve their methods on CO2 emissions as by 2015; all new cars must have a CO2 emission level of less than 130g/km as an average across European fleets.
Some sceptics say that the reduce in emissions is due to the fact that people are using their cars less and that the fuel prices increases and economic instability have played a role. If this was the case however, we would have seen a drop for all manufacturers and not a selected few. More and more hybrid and electric cars are being manufactured at the moment so it is clear that all manufacturers are trying their upmost to hit the 2015 targets that have been set.
It is unknown how green cars will fare in the future as they are still an unknown identity. How much will they devalue over time and how expensive will they be to repair? These are questions that many consumers will ask but the effects they have on the environment is enough to persuade many people to purchase one.