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Average CO2 emissions from new passenger cars registered in Europe have fallen steadily in recent years, resulting in a 28% reduction between 2019 and 2023. The main driver of this decrease in emissions is the surge in electric vehicle registrations, which reached 23.6% of the European Union’s new car fleet in 2023. Almost all car manufacturers met their binding targets in 2023.
Figure 1. Average CO₂ emissions from new passenger cars and future targets
Emissions from transport account for one quarter of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve climate neutrality, the European Green Deal calls for a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from transport by 2050.
To help achieve these targets, Regulation (EU) 2019/631 sets fleet-wide targets for the average CO2 emissions from all new passenger cars in Europe, and these targets are set to become stricter over time. For the years 2020-2024, the target is 95gCO2/km (NEDC), equivalent to around 115.1gCO2/km (WLTP).
From 2025 onwards, stricter EU-wide fleet targets will apply: 93.6g/km until 2029, 49.5g/km from 2030 to 2034 and 0g/km from 2035. This is illustrated in Figure 1.
Calculated based on those fleet-wide targets, specific emission targets also apply. These are binding for manufacturers, either individually or organised in pools (see below).
In 2023, the average CO2 emissions of new registered passenger cars in the EU decreased by 1.6% compared to 2022 and reached 106.4gCO2/km. The main reason for the reduction observed in the last year is the growing share of battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations, which increased from 13.5% in 2022 to 15.5% in 2023.
Still, petrol cars continued to be the most sold fuel type in 2023, constituting more than half of all new registrations (including hybrid cars), followed by diesel cars (17%).
Figure 2. Average CO₂ performance of pools of car manufacturers in the EU, Iceland, Norway in 2023
Specific emission targets are set annually for each manufacturer or pool, i.e. a group of manufacturers acting together for the purpose of target compliance. These targets are based on the average mass of the manufacturer's or pool's new vehicle fleet in the given year. Until 2024, this means that manufacturers of heavier cars have higher emissions targets than manufacturers of lighter cars. Manufacturers or pools that are responsible for fewer than 300,000 newly registered cars per year may benefit from a derogation target.
In 2023, 98 out of 101 manufacturers - individually or as members of a pool - met their binding target. In some cases, this was facilitated by the use of eco-innovation savings. Three individual manufacturers (DFSK Motor Co Ltd, General Motors Holdings LLC and Lotus Cars Limited), each responsible for fewer than 1,600 vehicles newly registered in Europe, exceeded their respective emission targets.
The average CO2 emissions of all pools are below 125gCO2/km. Pools with the lowest average CO2 emissions were Kia, BMW and Stellantis, reporting between 100 and 103gCO2/km. This is illustrated in Figure 2.
Among individual manufacturers, Tesla registered more than 300,000 new zero-emission vehicles in Europe in 2023. Polestar registered some 22,000, BYD around 15,000 and Smart around 9,700.