The increase in emissions was attributed mainly to the growing share of petrol cars in new registrations, in particular in the sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment. Around 4.5 million new cars were sold in the EU and in Iceland in 2018, out of which almost one in three were SUVs.
Petrol cars were the most sold passenger vehicles in the EU and in Iceland, constituting almost 60% of all new registrations. The majority of new SUVs sold were powered by petrol, with average emissions of 133 grammes of CO2/km, around 13 grammes of CO2/km higher than the average emissions of other new petrol cars, the agency calculated.
- Emissions from vans also increase
For the first time, the average CO2 emissions from new vans also increased by 2 grammes to 158.1 grammes of CO2/km. "This is the first increase in average CO2 emissions from new vans since the regulation came into force in 2011, following a sharp decrease in 2017," the agency said.
Many factors affected the increase in CO2 emissions from new vans in 2018, including an increase in the mass, engine capacity and size of the vehicles. In 2018, 1.66 million new vans were registered in the EU and in Iceland - an increase of 3.5% compared with 2017.
(Anadolu Agency)