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UK new car average CO2 now under 140g/km

UK motor industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) claims 56% of new cars sold in the UK during 2010 boasted carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions figures below 140g/km. New car emissions of CO2 continued to fall at an increased rate year-on-year, dropping 3.5% over 2009’s figures and representing a cumulative drop in new car CO2 emissions of 20.3% since 2000.  The data comes from the release of the SMMT’s annual New Car Carbon Dioxide (CO2) report for 2011, out today. UK vehicle fleet CO2 continues to fall The presence of lower-polluting new vehicles in the overall UK vehicle parc (the total fleet of new and existing vehicles on the roads) has driven parcwide CO2 levels down 7.8% since 2000, and 2.7% since 2009.  This is partly thanks to new vehicles, and also due to reduction of higher-polluting vehicles via legislation and scrappage incentive schemes. The overall reduction also comes in spite of an increased number of vehicles on the road, and greater average distances travelled compared to 2000. Diesel’s rise continues One notable trend has been market penetration of diesel-powered cars. In 2000 petrol powered cars held 85.9% of the market, with 14.1% diesels.

Volkswagen Brands – enough for now

VW boss Martin Winterkorn says Volkswagen has enough brands Volkswagen seems to be on a world domination plan. Audi is expanding with every passing day and the VW Group (Auto Union to be) has an unrivalled list of brands under its umbrella, including Audi, SEAT, Skoda, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti and of course VW itself. It also recently effectively took control of Porsche (after the failed efforts by Porsche to take control of VW) and has just announced a near 20% stake in Suzuki.

CAR's Q&A with Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa

By Ben Pulman Motor Industry 29 September 2009 14:10 At the recent 2009 Frankfurt motor show CAR had a quick chat with Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa and quizzed him on the new 458 Italia, future variants, new powertrains, and his thoughts on the McLaren MP4-12C. Below are some extracts from the short-but-sweet interview. Felisa was born in Milan in 1946 and graduated from the University Politecnico with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.