IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v49y2012icp719-730.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The evolution of European passenger car characteristics 2000–2010 and its effects on real-world CO2 emissions and CO2 reduction policy

Author

Listed:
  • Fontaras, Georgios
  • Dilara, Panagiota

Abstract

Τhe European passenger car certification test constitutes the basis for implementation and progress monitoring of the current CO2 abatement policy. The certification test is performed over a single driving cycle, (New European Driving Cycle-NEDC). The dynamics of NEDC and the fact that it does not account for other factors results in CO2 emissions which are non-representative of real-world performance. Using available data from the CO2 monitoring database and literature and employing simple vehicle dynamics model and stochastic techniques, this paper attempts to calculate the average gasoline and diesel passenger car characteristics, investigate how the evolution of certain vehicle characteristics affects real world vehicle performance and to combine the above in order to evaluate the progress in terms of real world emissions and possible correction of existing emission factors. The analysis reveals that reductions over NEDC are generally reflected over real world. There were indications particularly for diesel vehicles that the NEDC—real world CO2 emissions gap gradually widens and that existing emission factors should be amended accordingly. Currently this difference between certification and real world emission is estimated between 20 and 25%. The benefit of diesel vehicles compared to their gasoline equivalents in terms of CO2 emissions appears to reduce.

Suggested Citation

  • Fontaras, Georgios & Dilara, Panagiota, 2012. "The evolution of European passenger car characteristics 2000–2010 and its effects on real-world CO2 emissions and CO2 reduction policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 719-730.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:49:y:2012:i:c:p:719-730
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2012.07.021
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421512006027
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.07.021?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zervas, Efthimios, 2010. "Analysis of the CO2 emissions and of the other characteristics of the European market of new passenger cars. 2. Segment analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 5426-5441, October.
    2. Fontaras, Georgios & Samaras, Zissis, 2010. "On the way to 130 g CO2/km--Estimating the future characteristics of the average European passenger car," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 1826-1833, April.
    3. Meyer, I. & Wessely, S., 2009. "Fuel efficiency of the Austrian passenger vehicle fleet--Analysis of trends in the technological profile and related impacts on CO2 emissions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 3779-3789, October.
    4. Leduc, Guillaume & Mongelli, Ignazio & Uihlein, Andreas & Nemry, Françoise, 2010. "How can our cars become less polluting? An assessment of the environmental improvement potential of cars," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(6), pages 409-419, November.
    5. Zervas, Efthimios, 2010. "Analysis of the CO2 emissions and of the other characteristics of the European market of new passenger cars. 1. Analysis of general data and analysis per country," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 5413-5425, October.
    6. Zervas, Efthimios, 2010. "Analysis of CO2 emissions and of the other characteristics of the European market of new passenger cars. 3. Brands analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 5442-5456, October.
    7. Zachariadis, Theodoros, 2006. "On the baseline evolution of automobile fuel economy in Europe," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(14), pages 1773-1785, September.
    8. Fontaras, Georgios & Samaras, Zissis, 2007. "A quantitative analysis of the European Automakers' voluntary commitment to reduce CO2 emissions from new passenger cars based on independent experimental data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 2239-2248, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Travesset-Baro, Oriol & Gallachóir, Brian P.Ó. & Jover, Eric & Rosas-Casals, Marti, 2016. "Transport energy demand in Andorra. Assessing private car futures through sensitivity and scenario analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 78-92.
    2. Logan, Kathryn G. & Nelson, John D. & Brand, Christian & Hastings, Astley, 2021. "Phasing in electric vehicles: Does policy focusing on operating emission achieve net zero emissions reduction objectives?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 100-114.
    3. Benajes, Jesús & García, Antonio & Monsalve-Serrano, Javier & Lago Sari, Rafael, 2018. "Fuel consumption and engine-out emissions estimations of a light-duty engine running in dual-mode RCCI/CDC with different fuels and driving cycles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 19-30.
    4. Zhang, Shaojun & Wu, Ye & Liu, Huan & Huang, Ruikun & Un, Puikei & Zhou, Yu & Fu, Lixin & Hao, Jiming, 2014. "Real-world fuel consumption and CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions by driving conditions for light-duty passenger vehicles in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 247-257.
    5. Zacharof, Nikiforos & Tietge, Uwe & Franco, Vicente & Mock, Peter, 2016. "Type approval and real-world CO2 and NOx emissions from EU light commercial vehicles," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 540-548.
    6. Kazimierz Lejda & Artur Jaworski & Maksymilian Mądziel & Krzysztof Balawender & Adam Ustrzycki & Danylo Savostin-Kosiak, 2021. "Assessment of Petrol and Natural Gas Vehicle Carbon Oxides Emissions in the Laboratory and On-Road Tests," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-19, March.
    7. Li, Chao & Yi, Yongxi & Zhang, Aoxiang & Chen, Biao, 2023. "Fuel consumption-reduction investment decisions and coordination contracts in fuel vehicle supply chains: A dynamic analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    8. Thiel, Christian & Nijs, Wouter & Simoes, Sofia & Schmidt, Johannes & van Zyl, Arnold & Schmid, Erwin, 2016. "The impact of the EU car CO2 regulation on the energy system and the role of electro-mobility to achieve transport decarbonisation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 153-166.
    9. Bahamonde-Birke, Francisco J. & Hanappi, Tibor, 2016. "The potential of electromobility in Austria: Evidence from hybrid choice models under the presence of unreported information," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 30-41.
    10. Tscharaktschiew, Stefan, 2014. "Shedding light on the appropriateness of the (high) gasoline tax level in Germany," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 189-210.
    11. Ntziachristos, L. & Mellios, G. & Tsokolis, D. & Keller, M. & Hausberger, S. & Ligterink, N.E. & Dilara, P., 2014. "In-use vs. type-approval fuel consumption of current passenger cars in Europe," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 403-411.
    12. Martin, Niall P.D. & Bishop, Justin D.K. & Choudhary, Ruchi & Boies, Adam M., 2015. "Can UK passenger vehicles be designed to meet 2020 emissions targets? A novel methodology to forecast fuel consumption with uncertainty analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 929-939.
    13. Pavlovic, Jelica & Marotta, Alessandro & Ciuffo, Biagio, 2016. "CO2 emissions and energy demands of vehicles tested under the NEDC and the new WLTP type approval test procedures," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 661-670.
    14. Fontaras, Georgios & Grigoratos, Theodoros & Savvidis, Dimitrios & Anagnostopoulos, Konstantinos & Luz, Raphael & Rexeis, Martin & Hausberger, Stefan, 2016. "An experimental evaluation of the methodology proposed for the monitoring and certification of CO2 emissions from heavy-duty vehicles in Europe," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 354-364.
    15. Skeete, Jean-Paul, 2017. "Examining the role of policy design and policy interaction in EU automotive emissions performance gaps," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 373-381.
    16. Piotr Wróblewski & Wojciech Drożdż & Wojciech Lewicki & Paweł Miązek, 2021. "Methodology for Assessing the Impact of Aperiodic Phenomena on the Energy Balance of Propulsion Engines in Vehicle Electromobility Systems for Given Areas," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-24, April.
    17. Fu, Rao & Jin, Gui & Chen, Jinyue & Ye, Yuyao, 2021. "The effects of poverty alleviation investment on carbon emissions in China based on the multiregional input–output model," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    18. Rešetar, Marko & Pejić, Goran & Lulić, Zoran, 2018. "Changes and trends in the Croatian road vehicle fleet – Need for change of policy measures," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 92-105.
    19. Sajib Chakraborty & Hai-Nam Vu & Mohammed Mahedi Hasan & Dai-Duong Tran & Mohamed El Baghdadi & Omar Hegazy, 2019. "DC-DC Converter Topologies for Electric Vehicles, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles and Fast Charging Stations: State of the Art and Future Trends," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-43, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. González, Rosa Marina & Marrero, Gustavo A. & Rodríguez-López, Jesús & Marrero, Ángel S., 2019. "Analyzing CO2 emissions from passenger cars in Europe: A dynamic panel data approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 1271-1281.
    2. Bampatsou, Christina & Zervas, Efthimios, 2011. "Critique of the regulatory limitations of exhaust CO2 emissions from passenger cars in European union," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7794-7802.
    3. Mijailović, Radomir, 2013. "The optimal lifetime of passenger cars based on minimization of CO2 emission," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 869-878.
    4. Gustavo A. Marrero & Jesús Rodríguez-López & Rosa Marina González, 2020. "Car usage, $${\text {CO}}_{2}$$CO2 emissions and fuel taxes in Europe," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 203-241, June.
    5. Marrero, Ángel S. & Marrero, Gustavo A. & González, Rosa Marina & Rodríguez-López, Jesús, 2021. "Convergence in road transport CO2 emissions in Europe," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    6. Pasaoglu, Guzay & Honselaar, Michel & Thiel, Christian, 2012. "Potential vehicle fleet CO2 reductions and cost implications for various vehicle technology deployment scenarios in Europe," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 404-421.
    7. Martin, Niall P.D. & Bishop, Justin D.K. & Choudhary, Ruchi & Boies, Adam M., 2015. "Can UK passenger vehicles be designed to meet 2020 emissions targets? A novel methodology to forecast fuel consumption with uncertainty analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 929-939.
    8. Schipper, Lee, 2011. "Automobile use, fuel economy and CO2 emissions in industrialized countries: Encouraging trends through 2008?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 358-372, March.
    9. Pérez-López, Paula & Gasol, Carles M. & Oliver-Solà, Jordi & Huelin, Sagrario & Moreira, Ma Teresa & Feijoo, Gumersindo, 2013. "Greenhouse gas emissions from Spanish motorway transport: Key aspects and mitigation solutions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 705-713.
    10. Berggren, Christian & Magnusson, Thomas, 2012. "Reducing automotive emissions—The potentials of combustion engine technologies and the power of policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 636-643.
    11. Lucas, Alexandre & Alexandra Silva, Carla & Costa Neto, Rui, 2012. "Life cycle analysis of energy supply infrastructure for conventional and electric vehicles," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 537-547.
    12. Jesús Rodríguez-López & Gustavo A. Marrero & Rosa Marina González-Marrero, 2015. "Dieselization, CO2 emissions and fuel taxes in Europe," Working Papers 15.11, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, Department of Economics.
    13. Vedrenne, Michel & Pérez, Javier & Lumbreras, Julio & Rodríguez, María Encarnación, 2014. "Life cycle assessment as a policy-support tool: The case of taxis in the city of Madrid," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 185-197.
    14. González, Rosa Marina & Marrero, Gustavo A., 2012. "The effect of dieselization in passenger cars emissions for Spanish regions: 1998–2006," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 213-222.
    15. Weber, Sylvain, 2019. "Consumers' preferences on the Swiss car market: A revealed preference approach," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 109-118.
    16. Voltes-Dorta, Augusto & Perdiguero, Jordi & Jiménez, Juan Luis, 2013. "Are car manufacturers on the way to reduce CO2 emissions?: A DEA approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 77-86.
    17. Katerina PAPAGIANNAKI & Danae DIAKOULAKI, 2008. "Decomposition Analysis of CO2 Emissions from Passenger Cars: The cases of Greece and Denmark," EcoMod2008 23800102, EcoMod.
    18. Zervas, Efthimios, 2010. "Analysis of CO2 emissions and of the other characteristics of the European market of new passenger cars. 3. Brands analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 5442-5456, October.
    19. Zervas, Efthimios, 2010. "Analysis of the CO2 emissions and of the other characteristics of the European market of new passenger cars. 1. Analysis of general data and analysis per country," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 5413-5425, October.
    20. Sprei, Frances & Karlsson, Sten, 2013. "Energy efficiency versus gains in consumer amenities—An example from new cars sold in Sweden," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 490-499.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:49:y:2012:i:c:p:719-730. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.