Utes and 4x4s keep Australia’s CO2 emissions high

Australia’s insatiable appetite for large SUVs and utes such as the ever-popular Toyota HiLux and LandCruiser is making it difficult for the car industry to achieve its CO2 emissions targets.

Figures released today show that under a new voluntary emissions standard created by the industry last year, average CO2 emissions in 2020 across all new light commercial vehicles – largely utes – and heavier-duty SUVs were 218 grams per kilometre, well above the target of 197g/km.

In comparison, the result for passenger cars and lighter SUVs was 150g/km, marking a slight 4g/km reduction over the target set.

As well as reflecting buyers’ long-held preference for larger vehicles in Australia – with automatic transmissions – the results reinforce the fact that there are no mandatory government regulations (with penalties) as seen in other countries, which has led to the local car industry creating its own voluntary scheme.

Under the new standard, the industry aims to reduce CO2 emissions to 145g/km by 2030 for LCVs and heavy SUVs, and to below 100g/km for passenger cars and other SUVs.

This places Australia at least a decade behind the progress made in other markets such as Europe, where from 2021 all manufacturers in the EU are required to have cut CO2 emissions across their new passenger car and SUV model range to 95g/km – or to 147g/km for LCVs.

Commenting on the results, Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) chief executive Tony Weber admitted that even achieving the 2030 targets will be tough as the industry sticks to its guns with a standard that deliberately avoids discouraging buyers from purchasing large and typically higher-emitting vehicles such as SUVs and pick-ups.

“It will be a long, challenging road and each of the companies supplying vehicles into the Australian market will move ahead in ways that meet their own specific product development and launch programs,” he said.

“There is no doubting the commitment and direction of FCAI member companies to lowering emissions with the increasing availability and acceptance of zero- and low-emission vehicles – from full-electric through to hybrid and fuel-efficient internal combustion engines.

“However, there are at least three major challenges ahead. First, the CO2 results for 2020 reflect the type of vehicles Australians are choosing to drive, with sales of SUVs and light commercial vehicles regularly now more than 50 per cent of new vehicle sales every month.

“The fuel efficiency of these larger vehicles is improving with each new model release; however, the nature of the market and customer preferences need to be considered when comparing Australia’s emissions result with other countries.

“Second, the model development cycle for new vehicles can range from 5-10 years depending on the type of vehicle so the emissions reduction will continue to improve as the latest technologies arrive on our shores.

“Any expectation that emissions will decline rapidly over one or two years is unrealistic. We are at the very start of this journey and the industry will push hard on the rate of CO2 reduction.”

Weber also repeated his oft-made call for the federal government to accelerate the improvement of fuel quality standards in Australia, which he said “will enable the introduction of more of the fuel-efficient vehicle technologies already on the roads overseas”.

Average CO2 emissions from new vehicles sold in Australia have been stagnating for years.

Direct comparisons are difficult with the new standard introduced in 2020, but an annual reduction of less than two per cent was achieved for the previous five years across all vehicle categories, and a meagre 0.2 per cent improvement to 180.5g/km was recorded in 2019.

Results for individual brands in 2020 are still to be released.