Top brands struggle on emissions

The majority of automotive brands on sale in Australia have been unable to hit their own voluntary emissions reduction targets.

Figures issued by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) today reveal about two-thirds of all passenger vehicle brands – and more than half of commercial vehicle brands – missed their individual targets.

The FCAI issued overall results for the first year of the voluntary emissions target in March, which showed passenger vehicles and light SUVs undercut their 154 grams of CO2 per km combined industry target by 4g/km.

But the emissions figure for commercials – mostly utes and heavy-duty SUVs – was 217g/km, well above the 197g/km target.

The brand breakdown issued by the FCAI highlights Australia’s dominant sales player Toyota as both a key contributor to passenger vehicle gains and the commercial vehicle setbacks.

Thanks to its strong hybrid sales, Toyota’s average passenger vehicle CO2 emissions were 100.219g/km, versus its target figure of 160.382g/km.

But flipside was Toyota’s fleet of heavy-duty SUVs and commercials such as LandCruiser and HiLux, which averaged 230.371g/km versus a 211.181g/km target.

Among Australia’s top 10 selling brands only Toyota and Volkswagen beat their targets, while in commercials only Ford and Subaru could achieve the same feat. Kia and MG were not represented in this segment.

So many big-selling brands missing emissions targets is obviously bad news because it means more climate change-inducing CO2 being poured into our atmosphere.

FCAI chief executive Tony Weber stoically defended the results, saying the only numbers that mattered were the 2030 targets of 145g/km for 2030 for commercials and below 100g/km for passenger vehicles.

“Our member companies in Australia have signed up to this commitment of lowering emissions in our society and every one of them is working to bring the best technology vehicles to the Australian consumer,” he said.

“The pathway to the 2030 target will not be smooth. Individual brands may not always record annual improvements or meet the annual industry target. What matters is where we are in 2030.

“Regardless of the individual results, our member organisations should be commended for having the foresight and courage to agree to achieving a whole of industry target,” Weber said.

The FCAI introduced the voluntary emission reduction target in mid-2020 in the absence of mandatory settings from the federal government.

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