German automobile Volkswagen has met its European CO2 emissions legal target for 2021 of 118.5 grams per kilometer (g/km) for its new passenger car fleet, the company said on Monday. In 2020, the group failed to come under the emissions limit, attributing the shortfall to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on car sales.
“Our group-wide electric offensive picked up significant speed last year with many attractive new models”
Christian Dahlheim, Head of sales for the multi-brand group
Average CO2 emissions for passengers cars sold in the EU were “around 2% below the legal target”, according to preliminary figures from Volkswagen. Under EU legislation that came into force in 2020, manufacturers face hefty fines if the average emissions of their newly sold cars do not fall under a limit specific to each automaker.
Nearly 20% of the vehicles delivered in Europe was electrified, and more than half of these were all-electric. In 2021, Volkswagen delivered 472,300 “electrified vehicles” (hybrids and battery-electric cars) to customers in the EU, Norway and Iceland, an increase of 64% compared to the previous year.
