European Commission proposes strict new emissions targets for 2020

Reuters reports that, if the new proposal is approved, manufacturers in the EU’s 27 member countries would be required to reduce their fleets’ average CO₂ emissions to 95 grams per kilometre or less.

Car companies in the EU are currently bound to achieve average fleet CO₂ emissions of 130g/km by 2015, and are largely on track to reach that target.

The new 95g/km target would demand petrol-powered vehicles average fuel consumption of roughly 4.0 litres per 100km, while diesel-powered vehicles would need to average 3.6L/100km. The existing 2015 target requires combined cycle fuel consumption of roughly 5.5L/100km for petrol vehicles and 4.9L/100km for diesels.

According to Reuters’ report, manufacturers that fail to meet the required level would continue to be fined 95 euros ($120) for every gram they are over target per vehicle.

Under the proposal, emissions targets for 2025 and 2030 would also need to be finalised before the end of 2014.

The proposal states the increased efficiency of the EU fleet would save approximately 25 billion euros ($31.6 billion) in fuel costs per year, saving the average motorist around 500 euros ($630) every year.