Abstract:

The annual European Vehicle Market Statistics Pocketbook offers statistical portrait of passenger car and light commercial vehicle fleets in the European Union from 2001—and, beginning with the 2014 edition, of the heavy-duty fleet as well. The emphasis is on vehicle technologies, fuel consumption, and emissions of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants. Some of the key highlights of the 2014 edition are: After declining for several years, new passenger car registrations in the EU remained steady at about 12 million in 2012 and 2013. That number is about 20% below where it was before the economic crisis, when there were about 15.6 million cars sold annually in the EU. Average carbon dioxide emissions from new passenger cars fell below 130 g/km, reaching the target established for 2015 two years early—a demonstration of the effectiveness of the 2009 legislation setting that binding target. According to the European Environment Agency, the exact value was 127.0 g/km. The annual rate of reduction in CO2 emissions from new cars has increased from about 1% prior to 2008 to about 4% since then. Diesel cars accounted for 53% of all new registrations in 2013, slightly less than in 2012 but still much higher than in other major car markets, all of which (with the important exception of India) are dominated by gasoline-powered cars.