Vehicles sold in the European Union in 2014 were 2.5% more efficient than those from the previous year.
That’s according to the European Environment Agency (EEA), which analysed the carbon emissions produced by cars and vans.
It stated the average emissions of a new car sold last year were 123.4 grams of CO2 per kilometre (g CO2/km).
That’s “significantly below the 2015 target of 130g CO2/km set for the EU as a whole”, it added.
The average emissions from vans in the same period were 169.1g CO2/km, below the limit of 175g CO2/km set for 2017.
Diesel cars remained the most sold vehicles in the region. An average car of its kind emitted 123.2g CO2/km, just 2.5g CO2/km less than an average petrol car.
According to the EEA, Renault, Peugeot, Citroen and Toyota Motor Europe produced most of the lowest-emitting cars.
In the UK, almost 1.2 million cars are affected by Volkswagen’s diesel emissions scandal.
