It only goes one way with CO2 emissions from new cars. At least on paper, concludes a new European study.
CO2 emissions from the automotive industry's products, namely the new cars, continue to fall. Most recently, emissions fell by 1.4 percent in 2023 when compared to the 2022 level.
This is shown by new figures from the European Environment Agency .
We find one of the explanations for the falling CO2 levels in the number of electric and hybrid cars. Almost 25 percent of all new cars in Europe run entirely or partially on electricity.
This is even though Europe's best-selling car is actually still very far from having anything to do with electricity at all. Read more about it here .
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However, the real CO2 level from new cars can look completely different. Especially because the hybrid cars get 'beaten'. Something that is also due to the owners' way of corralling them. Many people forget to charge their cars.
In this way, the advantage of the car disappears, whose engine now just has to draw the extra kilos from an electric motor and battery pack that are not in use.
As recently as February 2023, a German investigation also concluded that the hybrid cars emit more CO2 than they officially get away with.
– Plug-in hybrids are fake electric cars built for lab tests and tax breaks, not real cars.
– Our tests show that even in optimal conditions with a full battery, the cars emit far more than stated. Governments should stop subsidizing these cars with billions of taxpayers' money, T&E head of car emissions Anna Krajinska said in a press release at the time.
Something else that the European Environment Agency has come to is that new cars have gained weight. The curb weight is now an average of 1,545 kilos for cars sold in Europe. This is an increase of 1.3 percent in one year.
Read more exciting news from and about the world of cars right here!
