Average car 15 per cent greener than 5 years ago

Research by The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders SMMT shows that the average new car emits 15 per cent less CO2 than five years ago. The data also shows that Greater London and the North West saw a fall in the number of registered cars over the last five years. Meanwhile the figures highlighted that proportionally Plymouth has the fewest low-carbon cars, while Leeds is the pinkest town in the UK.

The parc data shows that the uptake of low emitting cars varies considerably across the country. Chesterfield tops the charts with 29 per cent of cars on the road emitting less than 140g/km CO2 while Plymouth comes out worst with just 19 per cent achieving the same level of output.

Up till the end of 2010, the total number of cars on UK roads increased to 31,258,197, up 0.7 per cent on 2009. Scotland and the South West of England were the biggest growth areas, each showing an increase of over 4 per cent since 2005. Over the same period Greater London and the North West have seen a declining parc.

Average new car CO₂ by region (2005 versus 2010) and % change

 Source: SMMT

Silver is the most popular colour of car in the total parc and has held the top spot since 2008 when it replaced blue as the nation’s favourite. In 2010, the number of white cars increased dramatically, up 7%, following years of decline, reflecting a huge increase in demand for the colour among new car buyers. White cars are particularly popular along the south coast, but motorists in Leeds have a soft spot for pink with more than 100 vehicles registered there in the last five years, giving the city the highest proportion of pink cars in the country.

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