Average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of new cars and vans in Europe dropped in 2022 for the third year in a row, according to provisional data published today by the European Environment Agency (EEA). Almost one out of four new cars registered in Europe in 2022 was electric.

The EEA has published provisional data on CO2 emissions from new passenger cars and vans registered in Europe in 2022. The data show that average CO2 emissions of the 9.4 million new passenger cars registered in Europe in 2022 were 108.2 g CO2/km, around 6 g CO2/km less than in 2021.

The main driver of this trend was a continued growth in the share of electric car registrations, reaching 23% in 2022. This includes 13.4% full electric cars.

About 1 million new vans were registered in Europe in 2022 with average emissions of 185.3 g CO2/km, which is around 8 g CO2/km lower than in 2021. The share of electric vans increased from 3.5% in 2021 to 6.1% in 2022.

The provisional data are available through the EEA’s data viewer here:

CO2 emissions from new cars

CO2 emissions from new vans

About testing vehicle emissions

The CO2 emissions of new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles are tested according to the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) during ‘type approval’.

EEA activities 

The EEA collects and regularly makes available data on new passenger cars and vans registered in Europe, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/631. The data, including information on CO2 emissions and vehicle mass, are reported by all EU Member States, Iceland, and Norway in order to evaluate the CO2 emission performance of the new vehicle fleet.

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