EEA data shows European vans are now 6g below the 2017 CO2 target; market up by 18%

Fri 15 May 2015 View all news

The average van sold in the European Union in 2014 was around 2.4% more fuel-efficient than those sold in 2013, according to preliminary data from the European Environment Agency (EEA). Fuel efficiency has continued to improve and new vans now emit almost 6 grams of CO2/km below the 2017 target.
 
Around 1.4 million new vans were registered in the European Union in 2014, with average emissions of 169.2 grams of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilometre, 4 g CO2/km less than those sold in 2013. This is significantly below the 2017 target of 175 g CO2/km, which was already reached in 2013, four years ahead of schedule.
 
The data is published by the European Environment Agency (EEA), which started monitoring the emissions of light commercial vehicles in 2012. Final data will be published in the autumn after van manufacturers verify this preliminary data.
 
Key findings: 
 
  • The EU market for vans grew by 18% in 2014. Registrations increased in all EU Member States compared to 2013, except for Malta and the Netherlands. More than 60% of the vehicles were registered in three countries: France (24%), United Kingdom (21%) and Germany (15%).
  • Diesel vehicles make up the vast majority of van sales (97%). Alternative fuel vehicles using, for example, liquid petroleum gas (LPG) or natural gas (NG), currently represent less than 2% of the fleet, with electric vehicle sales comprising less than 0.5%.
  • The average emission levels vary across Europe. Slightly more efficient models were bought in the pre-2004 EU Member States (169.0 g CO2/km) compared to the EU Member States that joined after 2004 (171.6 g CO2/km). 
  • Emissions levels were lowest among new vans sold in Portugal (145.1 g CO2/km), Malta (145.7 g CO2/km) and Bulgaria (148.6 g CO2/km). At the other end of the scale, emissions were approximately 30% higher for the average vans sold in Slovakia (193.3 gCO2/km), the Czech Republic (191.1 g CO2/km) and Germany (190.4 g CO2/km).

The increasing fuel efficiency of vans observed in 2014 is similar to that recently reported by the EEA for new passenger cars sold, which improved by 2.6% between 2013 and 2014. 

Vans accounted for 14% of surface transport CO2 in the UK in 2012 (CCC) with sales increasing to 321k in 2014. 

Related Links

< Back to news list