Reduction of CO2 emissions from new vans slows in 2015: EU agency

The fuel efficiency of new vans registered in the European Union (EU) increased slightly in 2015 compared to the previous year, according to preliminary data published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) on Tuesday.

The average van registered in 2015 emitted 168.2 gram of carbon dioxide per km, which is 0.9 gram less than in 2014, which is the smallest annual reduction since monitoring of emissions from new light commercial vehicles started in 2012, said the EEA.

While the reported annual reduction is small, emissions are nevertheless well below the EU's 2017 target of 175 gram of carbon dioxide per km.

This target was already met in 2013, added the EEA, while further efficiency improvements still need to be achieved to reach the EU's more stringent target of 147 gram of carbon dioxide per km set for 2020.

Specifically, 1.5 million new vans were registered in the EU in 2015, an increase of 2 percent compared to the previous year.

The average fuel-efficiency of new vans varied widely across member states due to the different models and sizes of vehicles sold in each country.

Average emissions were lowest in Portugal, Cyprus and Bulgaria, and highest in Slovakia, Germany and the Czech Republic.

The average weight of vans sold also varied across countries. Smaller vehicles were sold in Malta, Bulgaria and Portugal; larger vehicles in Poland, Finland and Slovakia.

Only 10,250 electric and plug-in hybrid vans were sold in 2015, representing 0.7 percent of the total EU van sales, lower than the 184,000 electric and plug-in hybrid passenger cars sold the same year, a share of 1.3 percent of total car sales.

Meanwhile, diesel vehicles continue to make up the vast majority of the new van fleet, constituting 97 percent of sales, according to the EEA. Endit