Registrations of alternatively fuelled cars in the UK doubled in the first six months of 2010 compared with the first half of 2009, the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show.
The figures also reveal that CO2 emissions from new cars continue to decline as average CO2 rating of new cars bought fell 4.7 per cent in the first half of the year compared with the first six months of the previous year.
Much of the increased uptake in alternatively-fuelled cars (which includes hybrids) is accredited to a recovering economy and increasing market availability of such vehicles. Meanwhile the overall rate of improvement in new cars bought in the UK has cooled following the withdrawal of the Scrappage Incentive Scheme, which boosted the sales of small, fuel efficient models.
"Continued vehicle manufacturer efforts to improve fuel efficiency and cut emissions has further reduced average CO2 output during a better than anticipated first half of 2010," said Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive. "The remainder of the year is set to be challenging, especially post the scrappage scheme. All manufacturers are committed to offering ever more efficient products through the introduction of increasingly efficient engines and alternative technologies."
The average new car CO2 figure has fallen every month in 2010 so far while registrations of alternatively fuelled cars have more than doubled to 11,468 units in the first half of the year. In June alone they grew by 157.4 per cent, the same month in which Honda released its new hybrid model, the CR-Z.
Registrations of ‘signposted’ eco-models (models badged by the carmaker as a greener model) rose by 141.4 per cent in the first half of 2010 to almost 74,000 units and by almost 850 per cent on the first half of 2008.
Some of the most popular ‘signposted’ eco-brands include Mercedes-Benz blueEFFICIENCY, Vauxhall’s Ecoflex and Volkswagen’s Bluemotion.
