COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 29.07.1998 
COM(l 998) 495 final 
i '. COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
Implementing the Community Strategy to Reduce C02 Emissions from Cars: 
An Environmental Agreement with the European Automobile Industry 
.... >tM. ';.'. -^"V 

I. Introduction 
One of the elements of the Community's strategy to reduce C02 emissions from 
passenger cars and improve fuel economy (COM(95) 689) is an environmental 
agreement with the automotive industry (the other elements being vehicle-related 
fiscal measures to promote fuel-efficient cars within an overall Community 
framework on vehicle taxation, and a consumer fuel-economy infonnation scheme 
(fuel-economy labelling)). These three instruments will reinforce and add to each 
other when implementing the strategy. Following the outcome of its negotiations 
with the European automobile industry {European Automobile Manufacturers 
Association - ACEA) and its earlier consultations with the Council and the European 
Parliament on this matter, the Commission intends to conclude an agreement with 
ACEA (hereinafter 'the Agreement *). 
The Community's strategy on C02 emissions from passenger cars was proposed by 
the Commission. The Council endorsed its overall approach. The Council specified 
that the objective of the strategy should be to achieve an average C02 emission figure 
for new passenger cars of 120 g/km by 2005, or by 2010 at the latest (Council 
conclusions of 25.6.1996). The Council also indicated that an agreement should seek 
to commit the industry "to make the major contribution" to this objective. 
The European Parliament for its part has so far objected to the principle of an 
agreement and has called on the Commission to propose C02 emission limit values 
for passenger cars, with even more ambitious objectives than those set by the Council, 
while supporting fuel-economy labelling and fiscal measures (resolution of 
10.4.1997). However, the Commission understands that though maintaining its 
opposition to an agreement in principle, the Parliament might go along with an 
agreement under certain conditions. During the successful conciliation between the 
Parliament and the Council on the Auto-Oil I fuel quality directive on 29.6.1998, the 
Commission at the invitation of the European Parliament made the following 
declaration: "In the event of negotiations with ACEA not coming to a successful 
conclusion, the Commission undertakes to consider the introduction of binding 
legislation." 
The Commission will shortly put forward a legislative proposal for a consumer fuel-
economy information scheme. 
The Commission believes that the terms of the Agreement which the Commission 
intends to conclude with ACEA correspond to the Council's expectations and the 
Commission's own original objectives (COM(95) 689). Furthermore, they take 
account of the general criteria for environmental agreements contained in the 
Commission Communication on Environmental Agreements (COM(96) 561). The 
Agreement will take the form of: a Commitment formally adopted by the Board of 
ACEA (see Annex); a Recommendation to be adopted by the Commission 
subsequently; and (as far as its practical implementation is concerned) an exchange of 
letters between ACEA and the Commission.1 This Communication sets out the 
Commission's assessment of the terms of the Agreement. 
II. The terms of the Agreement: The Commission's assessment 
The Commission Communication on Environmental Agreements (COM(96) 561) 
recommends a number of general guidelines for environmental agreements. The 
Agreement with ACEA takes account of these guidelines, and satisfies the 
requirements of the Community's strategy on C02 emissions from cars. 
1. CQ2 emission objective: 
The ACEA Commitment contains a clearly quantified C02 emission objective for the 
average of new passenger cars sold in the European Union, i.e. 140 g/km to be 
achieved by 2008, measured according to the Community's current measurement 
procedure (Directive 93/116/EC). The scope of the Agreement are passenger cars of 
category Ml as defined in Directive 70/156/EEC, although innovative vehicle 
concepts and cars using alternative fuels or radically new propulsion systems will 
equally be counted towards ACEA's C02 objective (see the assumption concerning 
the acceptance of innovations in the Commitment). In the Commission's view, these 
specifications meet the requirement of a quantified objective and unambiguous 
definitions as a major criterion for a good environmental agreement. 
The C02 objective of the Agreement for 2008 also corresponds to the Council's 
benchmark that an agreement should make "the major contribution" to the objective 
of the Community's strategy as a whole by covering about 70% of the gap between 
the current (1995) market average (186 g/km) and the Community's 120 g/km 
objective. The target year of 2008 is within the timeframe set by the Council, i.e. 
2005 - 2010. In addition, ACEA commits itself in 2003 to review the potential for 
additional C02 emission reductions in the 2012 perspective. 
Given that the Community's strategy on C02 from cars consists of instruments which 
complement each other in achieving the strategy's overall target, it is essential that the 
added value of the instruments is maintained. C02 emissions from cars can be 
reduced: 
9 by technological improvements. Technological improvements can furthermore 
induce changes in the market by increasing the attractiveness of certain categories 
of cars to the consumer and/or creating new market segments; and 
by changes in the market, and in particular by a shift towards smaller and more 
fuel-efficient cars ('downsizing'). Market changes can be the result of changes in 
consumer preferences, product policy and marketing efforts by the automotive 
manufacturers, and fiscal measures and fuel-economy labelling, inter alia. 
1 See also the analysis by the Commission Services of ACEA's proposal for a Commitment of 
2.6.1998 (SEC(1998) 1047) which already contained most of the elements of the Commitment. 
The added value of the different elements of the Community's strategy is ensured as 
ACEA commits itself in the Agreement to technological improvements and as its C02 
target allows for C02 emission benefits from market changes in addition to ACEA's 
C02 commitments, which could be induced by fiscal measures and fuel-economy 
labelling. 
ACEA's Commitment explicitly recognises the possible added value of fiscal 
measures, and does not contain any clauses which question the right of the 
Community or its Member States to exercise their prerogatives in the field of fiscal 
policy. At the same time, ACEA assumes that it can achieve its C02 objectives under 
the Commitment without additional fiscal measures. Furthermore, ACEA commits 
itself to achieving its C02 target for 2008 'mainly' by technological developments and 
related market changes which leaves scope for further market changes being induced 
by the other instruments of the Community's strategy. The Commission will 
emphasise in its Recommendation the added value of fiscal measures. With the added 
value provided by the other instruments foreseen in the strategy, the Commission 
considers it desirable to build upon ACEA's commitment with a view to achieving the 
Community's 120 g/km objective. 
2. Assumptions: 
ACEA's Commitment contains certain assumptions. The assumptions reflect the fact 
that the automotive industry's ability to attain its C02 objective may be affected by 
developments outside its control, reflecting technical and economic constraints, and 
they are therefore justifiable. More particularly, the Commission sees the 
assumptions in the following context: 
1. The availability of enabling fuels for the application of technologies required to 
achieve ACEA's C02 objective: The Commitment is based on the requirements 
resulting from the conciliation procedure between the Council and the European 
Parliament on 29.6.1998, notably the maximum sulphur specifications of 50 ppm 
in petrol and diesel and the maximum aromatic content for petrol of 35 %, although 
ACEA expects that the market average fuel quality will be better than these 
legislative requirements for technical and market reasons. Any problems with 
respect to fuel quality would be considered in the monitoring of the Agreement. 
2. No distortions of competition which disfavour the European manufacturers due to 
their efforts to reduce C02 emissions: This assumption is in line with the 
Community's strategy on C02 emissions from cars. (See also Section III below.) 
3. The unhampered diffusion of fuel-efficient technologies into the market: It is the 
Commission's and ACEA's common understanding that this does not restrict the 
Community's and the Member States' freedom to use fiscal or regulatory 
measures. However, such measures would be considered in the monitoring of the 
Agreement and could be grounds for its review under certain circumstances. 
4. Impacts of the strategy on the general economic situation of the European 
automobile industry to be taken into account: These would in any case be taken 
into account by the Community. 
The Commission has no reason to believe that the assumptions2 will not be borne out, 
and therefore it should not be necessary to review the Agreement at any stage.. 
Furthermore, the Commission would agree to a review of ACEA's C02 objective only 
once both sides had jointly conducted a careful analysis of all relevant circumstances, 
having consulted other experts as appropriate, and once both parties had exhausted all 
other means to maintain the C02 objective. ACEA and the Commission will lay 
down the procedure to be followed in such an event in an exchange of letters at a later 
stage. 
Overall, the Commission views the C02 emission objective of ACEA's Commitment 
as a firm and unequivocal basis for the Agreement which satisfies the requirements of 
the Community's strategy to reduce C02 emissions from passenger cars. 
3. Intermediate objectives: 
The Commission, the Council and the European Parliament have emphasised the 
importance of intermediate targets in an agreement with the automotive industry. A 
staged approach is also an essential guideline for environmental agreements generally 
(COM(96) 561). The Agreement with ACEA conforms with this criterion by setting 
the following two intermediate objectives: 
1. Not later than 2000, some European manufacturers will begin to sell models 
emitting 120 g/km C02 or less in the EU market. This demonstrates ACEA's 
commitment to undertake efforts soon to reduce C02 emissions from cars. 
2. An "estimated target range" for the average new car C02 emissions is provided for 
2003. This target range, however, is indicative and does not represent an 
additional commitment by the industry. 
The Commission recognises that the intermediate target for 2003 is of a purely 
indicative nature, which is in line with the guidelines in its Communication on 
Environmental Agreements (COM(96) 561). It nevertheless attaches special 
importance to this intermediate objective as a basis for verifying whether the 
Agreement is effective. This corresponds in particular to concerns expressed by the 
European Parliament. Against this background, the Commission would thoroughly 
review the Agreement should ACEA fail to achieve its target range in 2003, and 
consider drawing up a proposal for binding legislation. Of course, the Commission 
would in any event take measures to allow the target to be achieved should any 
2 Another 'assumption' besides those mentioned above is that innovative vehicle concepts, and cars 
using alternative fuels or radically new propulsion systems will be counted towards the C02 objective 
of the Agreement. However, this 'assumption' relates more to the definition of the scope of the 
Agreement (see above), and as the Commission accepts the inclusion of such vehicles in the scope of 
the Agreement, it is not strictly speaking an assumption. 
circumstances arise at any point during the life of the Agreement suggesting that the 
Agreement is not being honoured. This intention should be included in the 
Commission Recommendation and will, as a result, form part of the Agreement. 
ACEA is fully aware of this clause. It should be noted that the Commission has 
already stated its intention to consider the introduction of binding legislation should 
the negotiations with ACEA fail (through its declaration made during the successful 
Auto-Oil Conciliation on 29 June - see above). 
4. Monitoring, verification of results and reporting: 
The Council conclusions of 25.6.1996 stressed the importance of a monitoring system 
to follow the development of the average C02 emissions of new passenger cars on the 
basis of data provided by the Member States. A monitoring system independent of 
industry data is the best basis for an independent verification of results (one of the 
criteria for environmental agreements recommended by the Commission (COM(96) 
561)). The Commission has presented a proposal for a Community monitoring 
system along these lines (COM(1998) 348). It invites the Council and the European 
Parliament to treat this proposal rapidly so that the system can become operational as 
soon as possible. At the same time, the Commission welcomes ACEA's offer to 
provide its own data derived from official government sources, in particular with a 
view to monitoring progress before the future Community monitoring system is 
operational. 
In addition to the statistical exercise of tracking the evolution of average new car C02 
emissions, a broader, 'holistic' monitoring system is established by the Agreement, to 
be administered jointly by the Commission and ACEA. This system would give 
particular scrutiny to the assumptions underlying the ACEA Commitment. ACEA has 
agreed to provide the necessary information in order to allow this monitoring system 
to function and to enable it to identify in a proactive way problems which might arise 
in the achievement of the C02 emission objective of the Agreement. It will allow the 
early identification of any circumstances which might facilitate or hinder the 
achievement of the objectives of the Agreement. The procedures for this joint 
monitoring system will be laid down in an exchange of letters between the 
Commission and ACEA. The future Community monitoring system and the joint 
monitoring mechanism with ACEA will, in the Commission's view, together provide 
an effective instrument for the monitoring of the Agreement and a basis for a broader 
co-operation between both sides in the area of C02 emissions from passenger cars. 
Based on the future Community monitoring system on C02 emissions from cars, the 
joint monitoring system with ACEA and any further studies as necessary, the 
Commission will report annually to the Council and the European Parliament on the 
implementation of the Agreement and of the progress and impact of the Community's 
strategy on C02 emissions from cars overall in the light of the Kyoto commitments. If 
appropriate, it will involve technical experts from the Member States in the 
preparation of this report. 
Together with the publication of the ACEA Commitment and the Commission 
Recommendation in response to this Commitment in the Community's Official 0 
Journal, the Commission's annual reports will satisfy the criterion of public 
information and transparency as set out in the Commission's guidelines for 
environmental agreements (COM(96) 561). 
5. General provisions: 
The Agreement will also fulfil the other guidelines in the Communication on 
Environmental Agreements (COM(96) 561) where applicable. 
1. In the way of additional guarantees for ACEA's commitments under the 
Agreement, the Commission should make it clear in its Recommendation that it 
will consider regulatory measures should ACEA not honour its commitments. 
The Agreement does not affect the Commission's right of initiative under the 
Treaty. 
2. ACEA's Commitment clearly declares the parties to the Agreement on the 
industry's side. The Commitment will be made by the President of ACEA acting 
on behalf of ACEA according to ACEA's statutes. Those members of ACEA 
which manufacture passenger cars support the Commitment and have agreed to 
make every endeavour to contribute to the achievement of ACEA's 
commitments. 
3. In principle, the Agreement ends once its C02 emission objective has been 
achieved in 2008. However, the Commission warmly welcomes ACEA's 
commitment to review the potential for additional C02 reductions in 2003 with a 
view to moving further towards 120 g/km C02 by 2012. This could be the basis 
for an extension of the Agreement. 
4. The terms of the Agreement, and in particular its C02 objective, may be subject to 
review, especially if any of the assumptions underlying ACEA's commitments 
are not borne out. Procedures will be laid down for such an event in the above-
mentioned exchange of letters. In turn, the Commission maintains its 
prerogatives under the Treaty. Both parties to the Agreement will act in good 
faith in the implementation and any review of the Agreement. 
5. As a general rule, the Commission's attitude towards co-operation as regards 
environmental protection is positive. However, the ACEA Commitment has to 
comply with Community competition rules. As far as the Commitment would 
contain or build upon certain restrictions of competition, a formal notification 
would be required under Article 85 of the EC Treaty before the Commission can 
take a position on the Agreement. At this stage, the Commission has no reason to 
believe that the Agreement would not be in compliance with Community 
competition rules. The Commission Services will work closely together with 
ACEA in order to clarify this issue as quickly as possible. 
III. Non-ACEA manufacturers 
The Agreement with the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) 
represents the critical first step in implementing this element of the Community's 
strategy on C02 emissions from passenger cars. According to the strategy, similar 
agreements should be concluded with non-ACEA manufacturers and importers. The 
Commission welcomes the fact that ACEA has not made its Commitment conditional 
on these other agreements. At the same time it recognises that ACEA's assumption 
regarding distortions of competition will best be met by concluding agreements with 
the major (groups of) non-ACEA manufacturers present on the EU market, and in 
particular the Japanese and Korean automobile manufacturers and Chrysler (the status 
of the latter remaining under review in the light of recent developments). 
The Commission has in the meantime begurç negotiations with the Japan Automobile 
Manufacturers Association (JAMA) and is confident that an agreement with them can 
be concluded soon. The Commission has also invited the Korean Automobile 
Manufacturers Association (KAMA) and Chrysler to begin negotiations. 
IV. Further steps in the follow-up to the Agreement 
The Agreement foresees that innovative vehicle concepts as well as cars using 
alternative fuels or radically new propulsion systems are included in ACEA's C02 
objective. This requires that their C02 emissions be measured and/or calculated 
according to a standardised procedure. Directive 93/116/EC will therefore have to be 
amended by the Commission accordingly. At the same time, the driving cycle in this 
directive should be aligned with the driving cycle according to Directive 91/441/EEC 
as modified by the outcome of the Auto-Oil conciliation procedure between the 
Council and the European Parliament on 29.6.1998. 
V. Conclusions 
In the Commission's opinion, the Agreement with the European Automobile 
Manufacturers Association (ACEA) on the table corresponds to the guidelines in the 
Communication on Environmental Agreements (COM(95) 561) and to the 
benchmarks for an agreement with the industry according to the Community's 
strategy to reduce C02 emissions from passenger cars (COM(95) 689; Council 
conclusions of 25.6.1996). The Agreement makes "the major contribution" to the 
overall objective of the strategy, as called for by the Council, and is based on sound 
terms which justify the expectation that it will be fully implemented. The 
Commission has entered into negotiations on similar agreements with non-ACEA 
manufacturers and expects to conclude these negotiations in good time. The 
Agreement will make a significant contribution to the achievement of the 
Community's greenhouse gas emission objectives under the Kyoto Protocol. 
Against this background, and provided that the notification under Community 
competition law does not give rise to problems, the Commission believes that this 
Agreement with ACEA is satisfactory and intends to adopt a Recommendation to 
ACEA as its part of the Agreement Before doing so, however, the Commission would 
like to give the European Parliament and the Council an opportunity to express their 
views on the ACEA Commitment and the assessment in this Communication, and will 
therefore defer the adoption of the Recommendation until the end of October. 
' ANNEX: 
ACEA Commitment on CO2 Emission Reductions from New Passenger Cars 
in the Framework of an Environmental Agreement 
between the European Commission and ACEA 
10 
End. Bernd Pteehetsrieder I am pleased to forward to you officially the Commitment of ACEA and 
assure you the support by ACEA s member companies. ACEA wants to 
forward and honour Its Commitment in the spirit, that this leads to a 
mutual satisfactory environmental agreement. 
Yours sincerely, ACEA C02 Commitment Mrs. 
F itt Bjerregaard 
h lember of the Commission 
F u rope an Commission 
200 Rue de la Loi 
1049 Brussels 
July. 27* 1988 
-^ 
AC E A 
ACEA COMMITMENT 
ON C02 EMISSION REDUCTIONS 
FROM NEW PASSENGER CARS 
IN THE FRAMEWORK OF AN 
ENVIRONMENTAL AGREEMENT 
BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION AND ACEA 
II 
1. 
INTRODUCTION AND PRINCIPLES 
(1) This Commitment is based on an undertaking by ACEA itself and has the 
support of all its car manufacturing companies: BMW, Fiat, Ford of Europe, 
GM Europe., Daimler-Benz, Porsche, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Renault, Rolls-
Royce, Volkswagen and Volvo, who have agreed to make every endeavour to 
contribute to the achievement of ACEA's goals. 
This Commitment demonstrates ACEA's support for significant reductions in 
C02 emissions in line with the European Union's undertakings under the United 
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change following the Kyoto 
Conference. At the same time it aims at preserving the diversity of the product 
offerings of the European car manufacturers and at maintaining their 
competitiveness, as well as their financial performance and employment. 
(2) As long as its commitments (see below) are being honoured, ACEA is assuming 
that this Commitment provides complete and sufficient substitute for all new 
regulatory measures to limit fuel consumption or C02 emissions, and for any 
additional fiscal measures in pursuit of the C02 objectives of this Commitment. 
Any fiscal measures, including their added value to this Commitment, will be 
taken into account in the monitoring procedure and their potential effects will be 
assessed in good faith. 
(3) The European automotive industry's C02 reduction commitments are very 
ambitious in the light of present and future technologies, and the industry is 
willing and prepared to commit substantial development efforts to implement 
the following commitments. 
(4) Together with the European Commission, ACEA will ensure that the 
Commitment is implemented in a manner which complies with applicable 
competition rules. 
ACEA COMMITMENTS 
(1) Some members of ACEA will introduce in the EU market, not later than 2000, 
models emitting 120 g C02/km or less, measured according to Directive 
93/116/EC (see Technical Annex, Point 1 Measuring Procedure). 
(2) ACEA commits to achieve a target of 140 g C02/km by 2008, measured 
according to Directive 93/116/EC, on the average of the EU new car sales 
represented by ACEA classified as Ml. 
This target will mainly be achieved by technological developments affecting 
different car characteristics and market changes linked to these developments. In 
particular, ACEA will aim at a high share - to the point of 90 % - of new cars 
sold being equipped with C02 efficient direct injection gasoline and diesel 
technologies. 
1$ 
Compliance with this target translates for the European automobile industry into 
an average C02 reduction of 25% for newly registered cars, compared to 1995. 
(3) In 2003, ACEA will review the potential for additional C()2 reduction, with a 
view to moving further towards the Community's objective of 120g C02/km by 
2012. 
(4) For 2003, ACEA considers an estimated target range of 165-170 g of C02/km 
to be appropriate. 
This translates into a reduction of 9-11 % compared to the reference year 1995. 
(See Technical Annex, point 3: Review in 2003 /Estimated Target Range). 
(5) To assess compliance with these commitments, there will be a joint ACEA / 
Commission monitoring of all the relevant factors with regard to these 
commitments. 
ACEA's commitments are based on the following: 
A) Availability of enabling fuels 
Given the outstanding importance of improved fuels for Ç02 reductions ACEA 
assumes the full market availability of fuels with a sufficient quality to enable 
the application of technologies needed for the industry to achieve its C02 
commitments during the life-time of this Commitment (s. Technical Annex, 
Point 2 Fuel Specifications). 
B) Distortion of competition 
In order to ensure a level-playing field: 
- non-ACEA member car manufacturers will be committed to equivalent C02 
reduction efforts for their sales in the EU, in line with the Council 
Conclusions of 25.6.1996; 
- the Community will use its best efforts to continue to seek that other car 
manufacturing countries, notably Japan, USA and Korea, will undertake 
equivalent car C02 reduction efforts, in line with the Kyoto Protocol spirit 
ensuring that the European automobile industry is not put at a competitive 
disadvantage in world markets by C02 reduction commitments in Europe. 
C) Promotion of car CQ2-efficient technologies 
European car manufacturers have high expectations for certain technologies, in 
particular those associated with direct injected gasoline and diesel engines, 
which are two of the most promising routes to achieve the central commitment 
of 140 g C02/km in 2008. This commitment is based on the assumption of an 
unhampered diffusion of car C02 efficient technologies into the market via 
competition amongst ACEA members and other market participants which is 
expected to result in market mix changes. Therefore it is fundamental that any 
measures which might hamper the diffusion process of either of the C02 
•* efficient technologies will be taken into consideration in the monitoring 
procedure. 
bi / / 
D) Acceptance of innovations 
The acceptance by the Commission of innovative concepts for vehicles 
replacing conventional cars in short haul traffic and of cars not producing fossil 
C02 as well as a share of cars using alternative fuels or propulsion systems as 
contributing factors to comply with the Commitment. 
MONITORING 
The joint ACEA / Commission monitoring procedure should cover: 
(1) The development of C02 emissions based on the collective achievement of 
reductions on the average EU fleet of new car sales represented by ACEA and 
according to the above commitments. 
(2) The development of the C02 emissions of non-ACEA car manufacturers for 
their sales in the EU. 
(3) Any developments regarding the underlying factors upon which ACEA's 
Commitment is based. 
(4) The impact on C02 emissions of new regulatory measures. 
(5) The development of new breakthrough technologies (e.g. natural gas, hydrogen, 
fuel cells, electric drive), which might be available for production in the next 
decades, and the impact of the Community's 5lh R&D framework programme, 
which is expected to foster research in this area. 
(6) The development and the promotion of other measures deemed to reduce fuel 
consumption, i.e. telematics and optimisation of the infrastructure reducing 
congestion; driver education for fuel efficient behaviour; driver information on 
fuel efficiency. 
(7) The impacts on the financial performance, competitiveness and the employment 
within the European automotive industry associated with this Commitment. 
The Commission's official reports on the monitoring results will not refer to 
individual companies' achievements, to avoid competition being distorted. ACEA is 
willing to provide the necessary data to achieve the objectives of the monitoring. 
* * * 
On the basis of the outcome of the monitoring, or if the impacts of this Commitment 
on the European automotive industry, particularly its employment situation and its 
global competitive environment, are detrimental, ACEA and the Commission will 
review the situation and make any necessary adjustments in good faith. 
K 
TECHNICAL ANNEX TO THE ACEA COMMITMENT ON C02 
EMISSION REDUCTIONS FROM NEW PASSENGER CARS 
(1) Measuring Procedure 
ACEA's proposals have been established according to Directive 93/116/EC, which 
has been fully implemented as from 1.1.1997, and will be applicable for the coming 
years. The implementation of this new measuring procedure has led to an artificial 
average increase o„f 9% of the C02 emission figures, compared to the previously used 
directive, whereas the C02 emissions from cars in the real world have not changed. 
(2) Fuels Specifications 
Characteristics of the fuels are key factors in car C02 emission reductions: 
A) to achieve further emission reduction together with lowered C02 emissions the 
fuel efficient lean burn technology will be combined with special exhaust gas 
after-treatment devices capable to reduce NOx under lean burn conditions. But 
those systems are only working with fuels meeting specific requirements, in 
particular a low sulphur content; 
B) low sulphur fuels ease the NOx/C02 trade-off in favour of C02 emission 
reductions; 
C) low aromatics in gasoline and a highcetane number in diesel lead to C02 
emission reduction too. 
ACEA acknowledges the outcome of the conciliation procedure between the Council 
and the European Parliament on 29.6.1998 and upholds its 140 g C02/km 
commitment by 2008. However, ACEA is expecting that fuels of the following better 
quality might be available in the market due to technical reasons, commercial 
competition as well as possible national policies: 
A) Some gasoline (e.g. Super-Plus, 98 octane as agreed in Germany) and some 
diesel plus with a maximum sulphur content of 30 ppm are provided in 2000 on 
the whole EU market in a sufficient volume and geographical cover. 
B) In 2005 full availability of fuels on the whole EU market which satisfy the 
following: 
• gasoline with a maximum sulphur content of 30 ppm and of a maximum 
aromatic content of 30%; 
• diesel with a maximum sulphur content of 30 ppm and a cetane number of 
minimum 58. 
Any problems which might arise with respect to fuel quality will be considered in the 
monitoring procedure. 
(0 
3. Review in 2003 / Estimated Target Range 
ACEA is willing to contribute to a periodic monitoring of its commitments, jointly 
undertaken by ACEA and the Commission, which it sees as the main tool to examine 
the evolution during the period of the Commitment. This should include a joint 
"Major Review" in 2003, covering both ACEA and non-ACEA developments. This 
would incorporate the results of C02 emission reductions up to and including 
calendar year 2003, including comparison of that year's fleet average to the estimated 
target range. 
The reduction in C02 emissions will not be linear; the pace will notably depend on 
the timing of availability of the enabling fuels on the market as well as on the lead-
times for new technologies and products and their market penetration. The reduction 
profile is therefore expected to be relatively slow initially and to gather pace later. 
Given all the uncertainties and the lead-time necessary for introducing new 
technologies and models, ACEA considers an appropriate estimated target for 2003 to 
be within the range of 165-170 g C02/km. This is a reduction of 9-11 % compared to 
the 1995 reference year. 
ACEA provides this estimated target range for 2003 on the following basis; 
A) it does not constitute a commitment of any sort by ACEA; 
B) the provisions set out under "Monitoring" are fully implemented and any 
necessary adjustment to the 2008 commitment or the 2003 estimate are made in 
good faith; 
C) in particular, fuels of sufficient quality are available - such that fuels issues do 
not constrain the application of technologies needed to, improve fuel efficiency 
(see point 2 above: Fuels specifications). 
IT 

ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(98) 495 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 06 07 10 14 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-98-506-EN-C 
ISBN 92-78-38760-6 
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 
L 2985 Luxembourg