Ireland ranks in global top 10 for low fuel emissions

Peugeot-Citroen make the most fuel efficient cars in Europe, as figures confirm Ireland ranks in the top 10 for low fuel emissions.

According to the European Federation for Transport and Environment, while Peugeot-Citroen tops the league table for fuel-efficient cars, Nissan has made the most rapid progress in cleaning up emissions from its European fleet, with a 12.1% reduction in CO2 emissions last year.

The annual report, which tracks the progress made by car manufacturers to reduce fuel and CO2 emissions, also found Nissan remains the best performer in driving fuel efficiency since EU CO2 limits were proposed in 2008, cutting CO2 by an average of 5.5% annually.

The Japanese manufacturer’s improvement was found to be mainly the result of improved efficiency in combustion engines and not the increase in sales of its electric vehicle, the Nissan Leaf.

Five car makers — Peugeot Citroen, Volvo, Toyota, Nissan, and Daimler — are ahead of schedule to achieve the 95g/km EU CO2 target by 2021. Renault, Ford, and Volkswagen are also broadly on schedule to meet their 2021 target.

The report found Fiat, GM, Honda, and Hyundai need to accelerate progress to achieve the target, while the latter three have yet to meet their 2015 targets.

Honda, it was noted, makes the least fuel-efficient cars.

Overall, the Asian and US companies are making less progress towards their goals than most European-headquartered companies.

Cars are responsible for 12% of Europe’s total CO2 emissions and are the single largest source of emissions in the transport sector.

Ireland is ranked eighth out of 28 European countries in terms of emissions from new passenger cars by the European Environment Agency. The most efficient cars were bought in the Netherlands, Greece, and Portugal, while the least efficient cars were in Estonia, Latvia, and Bulgaria.

Clean vehicles manager at Transport and Environment, Greg Archer said the progress achieved must be consolidated with a new 2025 target.

“Because of EU rules, companies like Nissan are going the extra mile to fit fuel-efficient technologies to their cars and squeeze more kilometres from each tank of fuel.

“!This means more money remains in drivers’ pockets, there is less harmful pollution, and fewer oil imports bring a boost to Europe’s economy. It’s a win-win formula that needs to continue,” he said.