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Average CO2 emissions from new vans registered in Europe have fallen steadily in recent years, resulting in an 11% reduction between 2019 and 2023. The main driver of this decrease in emissions is the increase in electric vehicle registrations, which reached 8.2% of the European Union’s new vans fleet in 2023. Almost all vans manufacturers met their binding targets in 2023.

Figure 1. Average CO₂ emissions from new vans and fleet-wide CO₂ targets

Emissions from transport account for one quarter of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions. To achieve climate neutrality, the European Green Deal calls for a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from transport by 2050.

To help achieve these targets, Regulation (EU) 2019/631 sets fleet-wide targets for the average CO2 emissions from all new vans in Europe, and these target are set to become stricter over time. For the years 2020-2024, the target is 130gCO2/km (NEDC), equivalent to around 189.9gCO2/km (WLTP).

From 2025 onwards, stricter EU-wide fleet targets (WLTP) will apply: 153.9g/km until 2029, 90.6g/km from 2030 to 2034 and 0g/km from 2035.

Calculated based on those fleet-wide targets, specific emission targets also apply. These are binding for manufacturers, either individually or organised in pools (see below).

In 2023, the average CO2 emissions of new registered vans in the EU decreased by 1.6% compared to 2022 and reached 180.8gCO2/km. The main reason for the reduction observed in the last year is the growing share of battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations, which increased from 6.2% in 2022 to 8.2% in 2023.

Figure 2. Average CO₂ performance of pools of van manufacturers in the EU, Iceland, Norway in 2023

Specific emission targets are set annually for each manufacturer or pool, i.e. a group of manufacturers acting together for the purpose of target compliance. These targets are based on the average mass of the manufacturer's or pool's new vehicle fleet in the given year. This means that manufacturers of heavier vans have higher emissions targets than manufacturers of lighter vans. Manufacturers or pools that are responsible for fewer than 22,000 newly registered vans per year may benefit from a derogation target.

Among pools with more than 22,000 vans registered, the Stellantis pool had the lowest average CO2 emissions in 2023 (166gCO2/km). This is followed by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi pool and the Volkswagen pool with average CO2 emissions of 175 and 179gCO2/km respectively, as illustrated in Figure 2.

In 2023, only one out of 71 manufacturers (DFSK Motor Co Ltd, responsible for around 1,300 vans registered in Europe) exceeded its emission target.