Can Europe’s auto industry hit 95g by 2021?

Diesel has long played a vital part of the European automotive industry, with the fuel accounting for a significant proportion of light vehicle sales in some of the major markets including France, Germany and the UK.

That all changed in the wake of the Volkswagen diesel emission scandal which broke in September 2015, taking the diesel discussion into mainstream media, and forcing vehicle manufacturers to re-evaluate their engine mixes.

Now diesel is once again playing a significant role in the European automotive industry, this time for a different reason, by impacting the OEMs’ efforts to prepare for the introduction of the 95g CO2/km fleet average that comes into force in 2021.