Achieve forty miles per gallon or cut carbon dioxide emissions to an average of 140g/km – that’s the target that has been set by the South Korean Presidential Committee on Green Growth.
Despite the fact that average CO2 emissions in the country in 2007 stood at 201g/km, the committee has set this ambitious target for 2015. Korea’s fuel efficiency standards are already scheduled to increase by 16.5 per cent in 2012 from the current levels of 26mpg to 34mpg for vehicles with engine displacement of less than 1600cc.
According to Woo Ki-iong, the secretary general of the committee, only 30 per cent of the vehicles manufactured in 2012 will be regulated under the new system and that number will increase to 60 per cent in 2013 and to 80 per cent in 2014. By 2015 all vehicles will be regulated under the system.
The presidential committee believes the dual system is the first in the world and state that it has been designed to cushion the economic burden placed on car companies. It believes that it provides the automakers with choice as some are more competitive with fuel economy and others have better CO2 reduction technology.
The government is now said to be considering a penalty system for car manufacturers that fail to meet the targets as well as a system of incentives for consumers.
