Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council - Monitoring the CO2 emissions from new passenger cars in the EU: data for the year 2008
Date: 2010-01-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, EU statistics, air quality, motor car, motor fuel, motor vehicle industry, pollution control, report, vehicle registration

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 12.1.2010 
COM(2009)713 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 

Monitoring the CO2 emissions from new passenger cars in the EU: 
data for the year 2008 

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REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL 

Monitoring the CO2 emissions from new passenger cars in the EU: 
data for the year 2008 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Following  Article  9  of  Decision  (EC)  1753/20001,  the  Commission  is  required  to  submit  to 
the European Parliament and Council annual reports based on the monitoring data submitted 
by Member States. The present Report concerns the monitoring data for year 2008. 

The  monitoring  and  reporting  as  defined  in  the  Regulation  (EC)  443/20092  will  replace  the 
one  based  on  Decision  (EC)  1753/2000.  Article  15  of  Regulation  (EC)  443/2009  repeals 
Decision (EC) 1753/2000 with effect from 1 January 2010, with the exception of Articles 4, 9 
and 10 until the monitoring report with 2009 data is submitted to the European Parliament.  

2. 

TRENDS IN NEW PASSENGER CARS 

2.1. 

Data quality and processing 

In  2008,  26  Member  States  submitted  data  according  to  Decision  (EC)  1753/2000.  Only 
Bulgaria  did  not  submit  any  data.  This  is  not  expected  to  cause  large  distortions  in  average 
emissions because of the comparatively low number of registrations. Manual re-processing of 
data  was  necessary  for  a  number  of  Member  States  due  to  the  use  of  other  fuel  types  than 
agreed upon, handling of unknown vehicles, application of the correction factor and other data 
implausibilities.  These  issues  were  addressed  during  the  data  evaluation  procedure  and  they 
were  successfully  solved  without  significant  data  losses.  Caution  should  be  used  when 
analyzing  the  time  series  as  not  all  EU Member  States  are  included  for  all  years.  While  the 
highest effort is taken to present consistent series, some breaks in trends due to methodology 
and monitoring improvements might be occurring. 

In comparison to the reports in previous years the aggregated data in this report are referring 
to  all  fuels  (previously  only  figures  with  respect  to  petrol  and  diesel  were  reported)  and  in 
contrast  to  earlier  reports,  the  CO2  emissions  figures  are  not  corrected  by  0.7%.  This 
correction  by  0.7%  had  been  applied  in  assessing  the  progress  made  by  the  manufacturing 
associations  ACEA,  JAMA  and  KAMA,  in  order  to  compensate  for  a  change  in  the  test 
procedure that took place after their voluntary commitments were made3. These commitments 
have been superseded by Regulation (EC) 443/2009 and thus no monitoring of progress made 
by the associations towards their commitments is needed anymore. For reasons of continuity 
with previous reports, data per vehicle manufacturer association are presented in section 2.4. 

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3 

Decision  (EC)  1753/2000  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  establishing  a  scheme  to 
monitor the average specific emissions of CO2 from new passenger cars, OJ L 202, 10.8.2000. 
Regulation  (EC)  443/2009  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  23  April  2009  setting 
emission performance standards for new passenger cars, OJ L 140, 5.6.2009 
More information related to the 0.7% correction can be found in COM(2002) 693 final and COM(2004) 
78 final. 

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Data for alternative fuel vehicles are included for the first time in the monitoring report due to 
their increasing market share and improved data quality. This includes vehicles reported in the 
following  fuel  categories:  Liquefied  Petroleum  Gas  (LPG),  Natural  Gas  (NG),  Electric, 
Hydrogen, Dual Fuel, Petrol-Bioethanol, Petrol-LPG, Petrol-NG as well as vehicles reported 
in the category Other. 

2.2. Average CO2 emissions from new passenger cars 

The average specific CO2 emissions in the year 2008 were 153.5 gCO2/km. This is a decrease 
by 3.3% or 5.2 grams per kilometre from the previous year (158.7 gCO2/km in 2007) which is 
the largest relative drop in specific emissions since the beginning of the monitoring scheme. 
While some of this reduction may have been due to the onset of the economic crisis, the data 
indicate  that  there  has  not  been  any  substantial  downsizing  of  the  car  fleet  as  the  average 
power  stayed  the  same  and  mass  fell  only  slightly  to  its  2006  level.  Both  petrol  and  diesel 
vehicles improved by more than 5 grams per kilometre in comparison to the year 2007. Since 
the  year  2000,  petrol  vehicles  improved  by  11%  while  diesel  vehicles  only  by  6%.  On  the 
other  hand,  alternative  fuel  vehicles  (AFV)  improved  by  34%  since  year  2000.  In  2008  the 
share of AFV almost doubled since the previous year and AFV are now accounting for 1.3% 
of new passenger car registrations. 

Table 1: Average CO2 emissions from new passenger cars by fuel 

gCO2/km 

2000 

2001 

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006 

2007 

2008

All fuels 

172.2 

169.7 

167.2

165.5

163.4

162.4

161.3 

158.7 

153.5

Petrol 

177.4 

175.3 

173.5

171.7

170.0

168.1

164.9 

161.6 

156.6

Diesel 

160.3 

159.7 

158.1

157.7

156.2

156.5

157.9 

156.3 

151.1

Alter. fuel 

208.0 

207.4 

179.2

164.7

147.9

149.4

151.1 

140.0 

137.0

Table 2: Share of fuel type in new passenger cars 

% 

2000 

2001 

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006 

2007 

2008

Petrol 

68.9%  64.0%  59.2% 55.5% 51.9% 50.7% 49.4%  47.3%  47.3%

Diesel 

31.0%  35.9%  40.7% 44.4% 47.9% 49.1% 50.3%  51.9%  51.4%

Alter. fuel 

0.1% 

0.1% 

0.1% 0.1% 0.2% 0.3% 0.3% 

0.7% 

1.3%

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Table 3: Average CO2 emissions from new passenger cars by member state 

gCO2/km 

2000 

2001 

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006 

2007 

2008

Austria 

168.0 

165.6 

164.4

163.8

161.9

162.1

163.7 

162.9 

158.1

Belgium 

166.5 

163.7 

161.1

158.1

156.5

155.2

153.9 

152.8 

147.8

Cyprus 

Czech Rep. 

173.4

173.0

170.1 

170.3 

165.6

154.0

155.3

154.2 

154.2 

154.4

Denmark 

175.7 

172.9 

170.0

169.0

165.9

163.7

162.5 

159.8 

146.4

Estonia 

179.0

183.7

182.7 

181.6 

177.4

Finland 

181.1 

178.1 

177.2

178.3

179.8

179.5

179.2 

177.3 

162.9

France 

163.6 

159.8 

156.8

155.0

153.1

152.3

149.9 

149.4 

140.1

Germany 

182.2 

179.5 

177.4

175.9

174.9

173.4

172.5 

169.5 

164.8

Greece 

180.3 

166.5 

167.8

168.9

168.8

167.4

166.5 

165.3 

160.8

Hungary 

158.5

156.3

154.6 

155.0 

153.4

Ireland 

161.3 

166.6 

164.3

166.7

167.6

166.8

166.3 

161.6 

156.8

Italy 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

155.1 

158.3 

156.6

152.9

150.0

149.5

149.2 

146.5 

144.7

192.4

187.2

183.1 

183.5 

180.6

187.5

186.3

163.4 

176.5 

170.1

Luxembourg 

176.7 

177.0 

173.8

173.5

169.7

168.6

168.2 

165.8 

159.5

Malta 

148.8

150.5

145.9 

147.8 

146.9

Netherlands 

174.2 

174.0 

172.4

173.5

171.0

169.9

166.7 

164.8 

157.9

Poland 

154.1

155.2

155.9 

153.7 

153.1

Portugal 

169.2 

154.0

149.9

147.1

144.9

145.0 

144.2 

138.2

Romania 

Slovakia 

Slovenia 

154.8 

156.0

157.4

152.0 

152.7 

150.1

152.7

157.2

155.3 

156.3 

155.9

Spain 

159.2 

156.8 

156.4

157.0

155.3

155.3

155.6 

153.2 

148.2

Sweden 

200.0 

200.2 

198.2

198.5

197.2

193.8

188.6 

181.4 

173.9

UK 

185.4 

177.9 

174.8

172.7

171.4

169.7

167.7 

164.7 

158.2

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Chart 1: Evolution of CO2 emissions from new passenger cars by fuel (EU27) 

250

200

m
k
/
2
O
C
g

150

100

50

0
2000

petrol
diesel
afv

130 gCO2/km

95 gCO2/km

2005

2010

2015

2020

Table 4: Average CO2 emissions from new passenger cars by region 

EU15 

EU10 

EU25 / EU274 

All fuels  Petrol  Diesel  All fuels

Petrol Diesel All fuels  Petrol  Diesel

2005 

162.6  168.8 

156.5 

158.1

159.2

155.3

162.4 

168.1 

156.5

2006 

161.5  165.4 

157.9 

157.3

157.9

155.8

161.3 

164.9 

157.9

2007 

158.8  161.9 

156.4 

157.7

158.0

156.9

158.7 

161.6 

156.3

2008 

153.3  156.5 

151.0 

155.5

155.7

155.2

153.5 

156.6 

151.1

In  2008  the  EU15  member  states  accounted  for  the  vast  majority  of  new  passenger  car 
registrations. The difference between the EU15 and EU10 in CO2 emissions of petrol vehicles 
decreased from almost 10 grams per kilometre in 2005 to less then 1 gram per kilometre in 
2008 – new cars in the EU10 having lower CO2 emissions per kilometre. On the other hand, 
the average CO2 emissions of the new diesel passenger cars sold in EU15 are lower than those 
of the new diesel car fleet sold in EU10. While in 2005-2006 new diesel passenger cars in the 
EU15 were emitting on average 1-2 grams per kilometre more than the EU10, in 2008 new 

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EU15  includes  Austria,  Belgium,  Denmark,  Finland,  France,  Greece,  Germany,  Ireland,  Italy, 
Luxembourg,  Netherlands,  Portugal,  Spain,  Sweden,  and  UK.  EU10  includes  Cyprus,  the  Czech 
Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic. EU25 
includes EU15 and EU10. EU27 includes EU25, Romania and Bulgaria. However due to missing data, 
Bulgaria is currently not included in EU27 for all years, Romania not included for year 2005 and 2006. 

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diesel passenger cars in the EU15 were emitting on average more than 4 grams less CO2 per 
kilometre than new vehicles in the EU10. In total, new passenger cars registered in the EU15 
in the year 2008 have lower CO2 emissions than new passenger cars in the EU10 for the first 
time since the beginning of monitoring the CO2 emissions of new passenger cars. 

Chart 2: Registrations of new passenger cars by region in year 2008 

EU12
8%

EU15
92%

2.3.  Other car characteristics: engine power, engine capacity and mass 

While the average engine power of new passenger cars had been increasing in previous years, 
it remained constant between the years 2007 and 2008. The average engine power of petrol 
powered vehicles is seen to increase over time much more slowly than that of diesel vehicles. 
The 2008 data for the average engine power of AFV are confirming the decreasing trend of 
previous years. 

Table 5: Average engine power of new passenger cars by fuel 

kW 

2000 

2001 

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006 

2007 

2008

All fuels 

Petrol 

Diesel 

Alter. fuel 

x5 

x5 

80 

68 

x5 

x5 

86 

75 

77

75

81

77

79

76

82

74

80

76

83

69

81

76

85

69

83 

77 

89 

69 

84 

77 

90 

61 

84

77

90

61

5 

excluded due to implausible figures reported by member states  

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The  slowly  decreasing  trend  of  the  average  engine  capacity  of  new  passenger  cars  slightly 
accelerated in the year 2008. The average engine capacity has seen the strongest drop since 
the beginning of the reporting. 

Table 6: Average engine capacity of new passenger cars by fuel 

cm3 

2000 

2001 

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006 

2007 

2008

All fuels 

1691 

1714 

1731

1743

1730

1726

1724 

1719 

1690

Petrol 

Diesel 

1520 

1560 

1570

1572

1571

1573

1561 

1546 

1518

1984 

1981 

1961

1948

1904

1886

1885 

1880 

1856

Alter. fuel 

1432 

1602 

1672

1628

1581

1561

1562 

1424 

1387

The average mass of new passenger cars decreased for the first time, going back to the level 
of 2006, after it had been continuously increasing in previous years. The mass decreased only 
slightly for petrol and diesel vehicles. On the other hand, AFV became lighter on average by 
34 kg and their average mass is now very close to that of petrol vehicles. Data before 2004 is 
not shown in the table due to known problems in Member State reporting during that period 
of time. For data before 2004 as well as detailed explanations of the origin of the mass data 
and all other mass related notes see Table 2 in the Annex of the previous report COM(2009)9 
final. 

Table 7: Average mass of new passenger cars by fuel 

kg 

2004 

2005

2006

2007

2008

All fuels 

1347 

1356

1372

1379

1373

Petrol 

Diesel 

1237 

1235

1238

1235

1228

1463 

1479

1501

1510

1508

Alter. fuel 

1415 

1404

1392

1271

1237

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Table 8: Average mass of new passenger cars by member state 

kg 

2000 

2001 

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006 

2007 

2008

Austria 

1290 

1314 

1335

1426

1432

1435

1449 

1445 

1431

Belgium 

1250 

1288 

1319

1361

1375

1396

1407 

1423 

1425

Cyprus 

Czech Rep. 

1205

1277

1316 

1354 

1372

1704

1242

1247 

1261 

1275

Denmark 

1253 

1306

1325

1327

1324

1328 

1370 

1320

Estonia 

1349

1408

1433 

1465 

1456

Finland 

1753 

1752 

1759

1336

1355

1381

1401 

1437 

1442

France 

1221 

1254 

1280

1305

1327

1341

1349 

1375 

1387

Germany 

1310 

1332 

1352

1381

1408

1412

1424 

1433 

1425

Greece 

1186 

1172 

1223

1262

1277

1287

1304 

1314 

1311

Hungary 

1182

1203

1237 

1264 

1288

Ireland 

1133 

1248 

1276

1265

1314

1341

1372 

1441 

1440

Italy 

Latvia 

Lithuania 

1586 

1604 

1632

1649

1259

1277

1294 

1287 

1285

1452

1445

1468 

1502 

1498

1433

1448

1483 

1481 

1467

Luxembourg 

1826 

1834 

1851

1442

1471

1487

1504 

1498 

1490

Malta 

1317

Netherlands 

1221 

1260 

1264

1301

1314

1337

1332 

1350 

1323

Poland 

Portugal 

Romania 

Slovakia 

Slovenia 

1181

1242

1271 

1304 

1260

1229

1254

1295

1329

1352 

1365 

1352

1268 

1286

1174  

1246

1305

1316 

1340 

1350

Spain 

1137 

1266 

1725

1317

1335

1374

1395 

1416 

1400

Sweden 

1423 

1448 

1454

1472

1467

1470

1488 

1503 

1488

UK 

1347 

1356

1392

1387

1374

1390 

1394 

1380

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2.4.  Monitoring data by association 

For  reasons  of  continuity  with  previous  reports,  data  in  this  section  are  presented  as  per 
vehicle  manufacturer  association.  In  year  2008,  CO2  emissions  from  new  passenger  cars 
decreased  for  each  association.  In  comparison  to  2007,  ACEA  decreased  its  average 
emissions by 4.7 grams, JAMA by 5.8 grams and KAMA by 10.5 grams. 

Table 9: Average CO2 emissions from new passenger cars by association 

gCO2/km 

2000 

2001 

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006 

2007 

2008

ACEA 

170.4 

168.2 

165.6

163.7

161.8

161.1

160.8 

158.1 

153.3

JAMA 

180.9 

177.9 

174.9

173.3

170.9

167.4

162.5 

160.5 

154.8

KAMA 

185.5 

186.8 

184.7

180.0

168.7

167.8

165.4 

161.3 

150.8

While the average mass of new passenger cars produced by ACEA in 2008 stayed at the same 
level as in 2007, new passenger cars from JAMA and KAMA decreased in weight by 20 kg 
and 52 kg respectively. 

Table 10: Average mass of new passenger cars by association 

kg 

2000 

2001 

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006 

2007 

2008

ACEA 

1351 

1369 

1418

1406

1355

1365

1379 

1386 

1385

JAMA 

1308 

1379 

1375

1380

1310

1309

1322 

1335 

1315

KAMA 

1295 

1366 

1447

1454

1298

1340

1381 

1371 

1319

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The effect of the current financial crisis and economic downturn can be seen in the 
lower  number  of  new  passenger  car  registrations  for  each  association  in  the  year 
2008. When compared to year 2007, we observe a decrease by 8%. This amount of 
new  passenger  car  registrations  corresponds  roughly  to  the  amount  of  registrations 
observed 4-5 years ago. 

Table 11: Registrations of new passenger cars by association (in thousands) 

'000 

2000 

2001 

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006 

2007 

2008

ACEA 

10 864  11 088  11 602 11 481 12 163 12 024 12 114  12 401  11 509

JAMA 

1 542 

1 301 

1 502

1 704

2 002

2 058

2 156 

2 234 

2 001

KAMA 

415 

322 

325

427

630

737

714 

757 

665

Other6 

Total7 

17 

50 

71

70

58

39

26 

27 

24

12 838  12 761  13 500 13 682 14 853 14 858 15 010  15 419  14 199

6 

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includes non-identified new passenger cars (vehicles for which members states did not report correctly 
the required information) 
total registration of new passenger cars as covered by reporting EU member states 

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