Index

3 Fuel consumption & CO2

Within the past 20 years, the average type-approval CO2 emission level of new passenger cars in Europe decreased by about half. In 2020 and 2021, more than half of the large drop in CO2 emissions could be attributed to new BEVs. In 2022, BEVs accounted almost entirely for the decrease in CO2 emissions. At the same time, the increased market share of BEVs has contributed to the trend towards heavier vehicles in recent years. This is because BEVs tend to be heavier than combustion engine vehicles, largely due to heavy battery packs.

The average CO2 emissions of newly registered cars in the EU-27 was roughly 110 g/km in 2022, down from 116 g/km in 2021 (Fig. 3-1). For the entire EEA, the CO2 level in 2022 was 108 g/km.

Fleet-wide average CO2 emission levels vary widely among Member States, with Germany at a level of 106 g/km and Sweden at 68 g/km in 2022 (Fig. 3-3). Only Spain and Italy exceeded the 2022 average WLTP CO2 emissions target of 119 g/km. In contrast, average CO2 emissions in Sweden and the Netherlands have already fallen well below the WLTP target for 2025.

In 2022, manufacturers were required to meet an average CO2 target of 119 g/km, with individual targets dependent on the average vehicle mass of a manufacturer’s fleet. Tesla (0 g/km) had the lowest fleet average CO2 emission levels of brands sold in the EU-27 in 2022. On the other end of the spectrum, Audi (124 g/km, in WLTP terms) had one of the highest emission levels among the major manufacturers (Fig. 3-4).

While average CO2 emission levels for new cars, according to the official test procedure, have decreased by about 55 % since 2001, vehicle weight has increased by 19 % and engine power has increased by 47 % (Fig. 3-6).