CO2 Emissions Fall in Europe’s New Car and Van Fleets
Fresh data from the European Environment Agency (EEA) indicates that average CO2 emissions from new cars registered across Europe kept dropping in 2023. The emissions were 1.4% lower than in 2022, and a significant 28% below those recorded in 2019.
Similarly, emissions from vans also showed a downward trend, with average 2023 emissions 11% lower than in 2019. These improvements are primarily due to an increase in the number of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) being registered. BEVs now account for 15.5% of the car market and 8% of the van market.
In 2023, the EU, Iceland, and Norway saw the registration of 10.7 million new passenger cars. The data shows that during lab tests, the average CO2 emissions from these cars were 106.6 g CO2/km. This figure is 1.4% (1.5 g/km) less than the average in 2022 and 28% less than in 2019.
A key factor in this decline was the increasing popularity of fully electric cars, whose market share climbed to 15.5% from 13.5% in 2022.
The average weight of new cars has been rising. In 2023, the average weight was 9% higher than in 2019, mainly because of the growing share of battery electric vehicles and electric and conventional SUVs.
For the 1.2 million new vans registered during 2023 in the EU, Iceland, and Norway, the average CO2 emissions were 180.8 g CO2/km. This is 1.6% (3 g/km) less than 2022 and represents an overall 11% reduction compared to 2019. The van sector also saw gains in electrification, with the market share of fully electric vans increasing from 6% in 2022 to 8%.
The European Commission will share these preliminary results and the related data with all car and van manufacturers. As per Regulation (EU) 2019/631, manufacturers have a three-month window to review this data and report any factual inaccuracies before the final data is released.
It’s clear that noteworthy progress has been made in the past few years, but continued effort from manufacturers will be needed to further reduce emissions. This is essential to meet the future emissions goals set out in the revised CO2 emission standards for cars and vans, and to support the EU’s objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
