Coupes are biggest CO2 savers at auction

Substantial reduction during the last four years, reports Glass's

Mass market coupes show the biggest improvement in CO2 emissions among cars sold at auction over the last four years, according to figures released by Glass's.

Between 2010 and 2014, coupes in the Volkswagen Scirocco class showed a reduction of 31% from an average of 245g/km to 168g/km. Other types of vehicle that also saw a major improvement were MPVs, lifestyle 4x4s and convertibles.

Commenting, Rupert Pontin, Glass's Head of Valuations, said: "This is a good way of seeing exactly how much CO2 figures have been driven down among used cars in recent years and the large degree of progress that has been made.

"It is especially pleasing to see that some of the biggest and fastest vehicles at auction, previously the worst carbon offenders, have seen the most significant improvements. There was a time when it was difficult to see how coupes and large 4x4s would ever perform acceptably in CO2 terms but manufacturers have performed minor engineering miracles.

"However, if car manufacturers are to meet future targets, especially the commitment to have a fleetwide average output of 95g/km by 2020, then further strides will need to be made and we would expect to see these figures reduce further in quite a dramatic fashion in the coming few years."

The overall figures for the 10 types of vehicles showing the biggest CO2 improvement are:

                                                                2010                    2014                       Reduction

                                                                g/km                     g/km                              %

Coupes eg Volkswagen Scirocco               245                         168                         -31%

MPVs eg Ford Galaxy                                233                         186                         -20%

Lifestyle 4x4s eg Toyota RAV4                  195                         161                         -17%

Convertibles eg Peugeot 207CC                171                         142                         -17%

Premium upper medium eg Audi A4          200                         169                         -16%

Small/city cars eg Ford Ka                         129                         111                         -14%

Premium 4x4s eg BMW X5                        312                         270                         -13%

Premium lower medium eg Audi A3           179                         160                         -11%

Lower medium eg Ford Focus                    171                         153                         -11%

Superminis eg Ford Fiesta                         147                         135                         -8%

Background: Car manufacturers must comply with an average fleet rating of 130g/km by the end of next year, a target which most of them expect to meet. However, a target of 95g/km has been set for 2020 meaning that 95% of new vehicles will have to hit this target with 100% having to comply by 2021.

About Glass's

Glass's is the largest vehicle data provider in Europe, offering products and solutions that are invaluable at every stage of a vehicle's lifecycle. These include key valuation, technical and fleet management data, estimating, bodyshop and dealer management systems and web-based services. Founded in 1933 by William Glass, the first Glass's Guide to Car Values - widely referred to as the used car dealer's bible - was published in July of that year.

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