Words by Smiley Team
With transport contributing to a fifth of all CO2 emissions, and cars making up the largest part of this, vehicle manufacturers bear a great responsibility to improve the environmental impact of their products. That’s why it’s positive news that Volkswagen has exceeded its CO2 targets for its European fleet of low-emission vehicles in 2020.
Their new passenger cars produced in the European Union achieved average emissions of 92g/kg, which was 8g/kg less than the legal target for the brand. This meant that their CO2 emissions dropped by 22 per cent compared to 2019.
Volkswagen passenger cars CEO, Ralf Brandstätter said: "Volkswagen continues to advance the transformation of the industry. In 2015, we kicked off the largest and most comprehensive electric offensive in the industry. By significantly exceeding our CO2 targets, we have shown that the brand is on the right track. In 2021, we will continue to accelerate the transformation towards electric mobility with new models.”
With ambitious targets, the company hopes to set an example for other car manufacturers to follow. Already, Volkswagen has delivered more electric vehicles over 2020 than ever before, tripling the number of fully electric vehicles produced compared to the previous year.
Between 2020 and 2024, they pledge to go even further by investing over €11 billion into electric mobility and introducing 20 fully electric models to the market by 2025.
“We want to develop Volkswagen into the most attractive brand for sustainable mobility. We are continuously pursuing this goal with our Way to Zero and will energize the brand even further in future,” Brandstätter said.
Although electric vehicles don’t reduce emissions entirely, the electricity to power them can be sourced from renewable energy, lowering their impact on the environment. So Volkswagen, among others, is taking a step in the right direction and other vehicle manufacturers should follow them, putting us on the road to a greener future.
