CO2 performance emissions of new vans in Europe

Following a steady decline between 2012 and 2017 and a slight increase between 2017 and 2019, average CO2 emissions measured at type-approval for new vans registered in Europe decreased by almost 2% in 2020. The share of electric vans in total new registrations increased from 1.4% in 2019 to 2.3% in 2020, most of which were fully electric vans. In 2020, only one van manufacturer did not meet its binding CO2 emissions target.

Published: ‒ 25min read

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 (EEA, 2019).

Regulation (EU) 2019/631 (EU, 2019) sets a fleet-wide target of 147g CO2/km for the years 2020-2024, and stricter fleet-wide targets for 2025 and 2030.

Following a steady decline between 2012 and 2017 and a slight increase between 2017 and 2019, 2020 saw average specific CO2 emissions of newly registered light commercial vehicles fall to 155.0g CO2/km – a 2% decrease in comparison to 2019.

The share of registrations of (battery) electric vans increased between 2019 (1.4%) and 2020 (2.3%), but overall remained low. Norway (8.7%) and Sweden (7.3%) had the highest shares of battery electric vans registered.

According to EU legislation, manufacturers can group together as pools and act jointly to meet their CO2 emissions standards. Pools and individual manufacturers responsible for fewer than 22,000 newly registered vans registered in the EU per calendar year may benefit from a derogation target.

In 2020, almost all van manufacturers — individually or as members of a pool — met their annual binding targets. Only one individual manufacturer (Ssangyong Motor Company) exceeded its CO2 emissions target and will therefore be required to pay an excess emissions premium of EUR95 per van for every g/km over the target.

Among those pools with more than 22,000 vans registered, FCA-PSA had the lowest average CO2 emissions in 2020 (139g CO2/km), followed by Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, Ford-Volkswagen, MAN-SAIC and Mercedes-Benz with average CO2 emissions between 142 and 184g CO2/km.

Among individual manufacturers with more than 22,000 registrations in 2020, PSA achieved the lowest average CO2 emissions at 111g CO2/km, followed by Nissan International SA, Opel Automobile GmbH and Renault SAS, with average CO2 emissions ranging from 138 to 141g CO2/km.


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