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EU cars to cut carbon emissions by 18%

European car makers are to be obliged to cut the carbon emissions of their cars by 18 per cent by 2012, following a compromise reached by EU legislators.

The deadline will oblige manufacturers to cut the carbon dioxide emissions of 65 per cent of their fleet by a fifth to 130 grams of the greenhouse gas by 2012.

That figure will rise to apply to 75 per cent of their fleet models by 2013, 80 per cent by 2014 and 100 per cent by 2015.

However, some automakers secured exemptions for a portion of their fleets, despite protests from environmentalists.

Germany's BMW and Mercedes, as well as Britain's Aston Martin and Jaguar and Italy's Fiat, Maserati and Ferrari among others will continue to be allowed to manufacture high-emissions cars until 2014.

All cars must emit less than the limit by 2015, as part of a compromise that the automotive industry considers a reprieve that could help it in these difficult financial times.

"Overall, it represents a balance between the needs of the environment and the needs of the struggling car industry in Europe," said UK conservative MEP Martin Callanan.

However, Greenpeace transport policy campaigner Franziska Achterberg criticised the exemptions.

"Countries like Germany and Italy have wrecked the car law by defending the short-sighted interests of their national car industries," she said.

"The car industry has been driving negotiations all along and EU politicians have been happy to sit in the passenger seat making comments about the scenery."

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