So far, the amount of effort the auto industry and governments have devoted to fuel efficiency has varied widely throughout the world, but no country or manufacturer has taken concret action to implement meaningful fuel efficiency.
For example, the US has had a mandatory fuel efficiency programme since 19753 . However, as fuel prices have dropped and legislative pressures to improve fuel efficiency have diminished, [27] new-car fuel efficiency has been slipping[28]. Between 1988 and 1990 the fuel efficiency of new US cars declined by 4%, Asian models (Japan and Korea) declined by 6 % over the same period, the new-car fleet (domestic and imports) showed a 6% weight gain and a 10% increase in horsepower. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency "... if this backslide continues, problems with nationwide fuel consumption will increase and global warming trends will worsen at a pace faster than is generally being assumed by analysts." [29]
And with the fall in gasoline prices, consumers are buying larger, more powerful vehicles, like vans, light trucks, and jeeps. While manufacturers may claim that consumers do not want fuel efficient vehicles, in reality, the industry channels huge sums into its advertising budgets in order to distort consumer preference. The emphasis is, usually on power, speed and luxury, not fuel efficiency:
This shift towards less fuel efficient vehicles, coupled with the relaxation of federal policies like the US Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency standards (CAFE), has in turn brought about an increase in fuel consumption - much to the relief of the oil industry. To compare fuel efficiency in the US and Europe, it seems at first that US manufacturers have made more improvements than their European counterparts. However, the US's vehicle fleet started from a higher level of inefficient "gas-guzzling" cars,profiting from a larger savings potential. [see also reference #1]
In Europe the average fuel consumption of the car fleet as well as the numbers of kilometres driven per car per year is lower than American levels [see reference #21], however future progress on political fuel efficiency measures will centre on the EU's new vehicle C02 regulations.
In the European Union, the current growth trends in the transport sector threatens to jeopardize the Community's CO2-objectives. Under a "business-as-usual" scenario, European CO2-emissions from cars are set to increase by more than 30% by 2005 as compared to 1990, Concerns have been expressed by the Environment Commissioner Ritt Bjerregaard. Under the motto "we must move from 'gas-guzzling' to 'gas-sipping' cars", [30] in December 1995,the Commission produced a communication to the Council and the European Parliament outlining steps to tackle this growth. The Commission has been working on this issue for more than seven years.
The Communication covered a package of measures. One key proposal is to set average fuel efficiency targets of 5 litres/100 km for new petrol cars, and 4.5 litres/100 km for new Diesel cars for 2005. In order to implement this target, the Commission suggests to create tax incentives for consumers who buy more fuel efficient cars, through the establishment of a fiscal differential. Another instrument proposed is the creation of a CO2-emission label for new cars. [31]
Among their non-fiscal options, the EU's executive started negotiations for a voluntary agreement with the European auto industry and car importers. Although the car manufacturers continue to release promises about the future fuel efficiency of their cars (for example in August 1995, the German manufacturers committed themselves on August 11, 1995 to reduce the average consumption of their new cars by 25% (over 1990 levels) until 2005 [32]) they are strongly resisting the proposed European Union curbs on CO2. Or as a senior official from the European manufactuers lobby ACEA puts it: "It will take at least a year before we come to an agreement on this because the Commission's numbers for 2005 are impossible. They are not reachable they are too low." [33]
The main resistance from the manufacturers side stems from the necessity to 'downsize' their future fleet. It will need strong political and public pressure to force the backwards car industry into the production of less-polluting engines as well as smaller and lighter models.
