Green drive ‘could hike car costs by €5,000’

THE COST of a new car could increase by €5,000, warn car manufacturers, which have been given a six-year deadline to produce cleaner vehicles that emit less carbon dioxide.

Under the proposals outlined by the European Commission, all new cars will have to cut their CO2 emissions by 18% by 2012.

Cars emit an average of 163g of CO2 per kilometre but the EU says this must be reduced to 120g. The majority of the reduction must be achieved through car manufacturers making more efficient cars and 10g must come from cleaner fuel including bio-fuels.