Cleaner car sales in Europe not significant in 2006

Bad news. According to the Financial Times, the "greener" cars aren't catching European consumers. Only 6.25 percent of cars sold in the European Union in 2006 produce less than 120 grams of CO2 per kilometer. 120 is a significant figure because that's the limit in the EU proposal for a carmaker average that would kick in in 2012. If you want global figures, that 6.25 percent translates into a million "greener" cars from the total 16 million vehicles sold in 2006.

Europe's second biggest market, the UK, had even worse figures. Only 5 percent of car sales were vehicles that produce less than 120 CO2 g/km. And that's with the Congestion Tax in London and a very high road tax tied to CO2 emissions.

What's even worse are SUV sales, which have increased threefold since 2000, from barely half a million to 1.5 million. However, the glass can also be seen as 1/3rd full: 32 percent of car sales in Europe were for cars that produce between 121 and 150 CO2 g/km.

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[Source: Financial Times via Econoticias]