According to AutoNews, BMW currently ranks third among automakers closest to achieving the CO2 targets by 2015. Ahead of BMW, Toyota and PSA/Peugeot-Citroen are on track to reaching their EU-mandated CO2 targets.

BMW needs to cut their overall fleet emissions by 7.1 percent to comply with the tougher emissions regulations, which start to take effect next year. Toytota and PSA need to reduce CO2 only by 4.2 percent, 5.1 respectively.

By 2015, new EU regulations stipulate that auto industry must reduce CO2 emissions from new cars sold in Europe to a fleet average of 130 grams per kilometer. Last year’s average was 140.9g/km, down from 145.9g/km in 2009, according to JATO’s analysis of 21 European markets.

In November 2010, it was reported that BMW is ahead of schedule to meet CO2 targets. At the time, BMW ranked 11th in a list of automakers ranked by CO2 emissions. In 2009, BMW Group achieved 10.2 per cent reduction in emission levels. BMW Group’s average vehicle emissions in 2008 was 154g/km, down 10.2 per cent from 172g/km in 2007.

BMW Group’s success in reducing CO2 is thanks to its EfficientDynamics program which incorporates a wide variety of fuel-saving and emissions-reducing measures across the whole vehicle range as standard. EfficientDynamics technology includes Auto Start-Stop, Brake Energy Regeneration and Active Aerodynamics, amongst a wide range of other features.

AutoNews says if the automakers fall short, they will face steep fines. From 2012 to 2018, the penalties that an auto group faces for being over its target are: 5 euros per vehicle for the first g/km of CO2; 15 euros for the second gram; 25 euros for the third gram; and 95 euros from the fourth gram onwards. A carmaker with sales of 1 million units in Europe that misses the target by 1g/km of CO2 faces a 5 million euro fine.

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[Source: AutoNews ]