Source European Environment Agency – The fuel efficiency of new cars sold in the European Union (EU) continued to improve last year but at a slower rate. In fact, the 1.4 grammes (g) of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilometre (km) reduction compared to 2015 constitutes the smallest annual improvement recorded over the last decade, according to provisional data published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Average CO₂ emissions of a new car sold in 2016 were 118.1 g CO₂/km. This represents a decrease of 1.4 g CO₂/km (1.2%), compared to the previous year, according to provisional data. This reduction is the smallest annual improvement recorded since 2006 for new cars sold in the EU.

Official emissions have, however, decreased by more than 22 g CO₂/km or 16% since 2010, when an updated monitoring system started under the current EU legislation. The EU remains well below its target of 130 g CO₂/km set for 2015, but it is clear that, compared to 2016, annual improvements in vehicle efficiency need to significantly increase in each of the coming five years in order to achieve the second average emissions target of 95 g CO₂/km by 2021.

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