EU sets 106mpg/37.5kpl average fuel economy target

May 3, 2013: New EU regulations could force European car makers to hit an average of 106 miles per gallon (mpg) / 37.5 kilometres per litre across their model ranges by 2025, according to plans floated by members of the European parliament.

This target could be made even harder to hit by the adoption of the new World Light Duty Test Procedure (WLTP), a new method of calculating fuel economy that the EU wants to see incorporated into law by 2017 “as a matter of urgency”.

The WLTP has been designed under United Nations guidance to be “more reflective” of typical fuel economy in real-world driving conditions. The current EU combined cycle economy test, which is carried out under laboratory conditions, is coming under increasing criticism from drivers who cannot achieve the quoted figures. MEPs also passed a draft law that will regulate the average emissions of cars sold in the EU from 130g/km of CO2 to just 95g/km by 2020. Only car makers building fewer than 1,000 cars per year will be exempt from these regulations. The combination of much stricter CO2 limits and the new ‘real-world’ economy test is likely to provide the greatest technical hurdle ever experienced by the car industry. Building cars that are lighter, meet safety regulations and have ever-more-expensive drivetrains and yet are still affordable will be a serious headache for all brands.

Despite this, industry sources have told Autocar UK that non-premium European brands think that the stringent regulations, particularly the 95g/km target, will be easier for them to meet because they, in general, sell smaller, more efficient cars.

They also predict that premium brands will find it far harder to meet the target, possibly leading to significant fines for breaking the CO2 limit. The EU is also proposing a ‘super credits’ system from this year, which would help car makers to meet the 95g/km target.

For every car sold that is rated at less than 50g/km of CO2, it will count as 3.5 cars in the manufacturer’s sales total. By 2020, this favourable weighting will fall to 1.3 cars.

HILTON HOLLOWAY, AUTOCAR UK

Photograph: The Volkswagen XL1 is claimed to achieve upwards of 150mpg in real-world use.