Major carmakers including Nissan, Volkswagen and BMW are far behind in boosting fuel efficiency standards to meet European Union targets, a report showed on Wednesday. The report, commissioned by Brussels-based environmental group Transport & Environment (T&E), said three-quarters of 20 major brands sold in Europe were not making changes fast enough to meet climate-change targets set in a voluntary agreement with the EU.

The voluntary goals, which the European Commission has threatened to make binding if carmakers do not follow through, require emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) for new cars sold in Europe to be reduced to 140 grams per kilometre on average by 2008. Asian carmakers have until 2009 to meet the target, while US automakers are not technically covered by the pact.

Nissan had the worst record in Europe of cutting emissions from its new cars, followed by Suzuki, Mazda, VW premium brand Audi, Ford unit Volvo, BMW and Volkswagen, the group said. Some companies were on track, however. It said Fiat, PSA brands Citroen and Peugeot, Renault and Ford would all meet or exceed the goals by the 2008 deadline, based on their current records.

"Clearly the target is achievable, but as long as 75 percent of carmakers go unpunished for their failure, we will never make the necessary progress," T&E official Aat Peterse said in a statement. "Europe must kiss its voluntary targets goodbye and waste no more time in coming up with legally binding measures to double fuel efficiency in the next decade," he said.

Carmakers criticised the report, emphasising that the voluntary agreement was for an average reduction industry-wide, making figures on specific automakers irrelevant. "This commitment is an industry commitment and the target is an industry average target," said Sigrid de Vries, spokeswoman for the Association of European Automobile Manufacturers. "It`s just not about individual performances in this target."

She said automakers were challenged by the fact that cars were getting heavier due to increased safety standards and called on policymakers to use taxation to create incentives for consumers to buy fuel-efficient cars already on the market. "They need to be bought, too. The demand has not been that large so far."
(By Jeff Mason, Planet Ark, 26/10/2006)
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/38667/story.htm