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The European Union wants to make it a little easier for carmakers by revising the former 2012 120g/km fleet average CO2 emissions limits to a more conservative 125g/km limit by 2015. The main reason for the back down is because of the disadvantage to German carmakers in particular, which traditionally manufacture large and powerful sedans and sports cars. By contrast, Italian and French carmakers didn’t stand to lose much because of the high number of economic compact cars they build.
The European Commission, the EU’s regulatory arm, still hopes to implement the stricter 120g/km limit by 2012 but the EU has announced today that it would back legislation to set a 125g/km limit by 2015 at the earliest, according to Bloomberg. “We need now to set ambitious targets, but also to give the industry sufficient time to make the design changes at least-possible cost,” one member revealed to reporters.
Any new law will require support from both the Commission and the EU and could take as much as two years to implement.
This latest announcement is sure to be good news for Europe’s carmakers who warn that the original targets will likely raise vehicle prices and threaten some two million jobs.
Source: Motor Authority » EU backs easing of CO2 limits
