That’s the findings of the latest European Environment Agency (EEA) analysis on “CO2 emissions Performance of Car Manufacturers in 2011”.

The research found that average CO2 vehicle emissions in 2011 for 47 carmakers – responsible for 95% of the new cars registered in the EU – were below target levels estimated for 2012.

The EU target is for the average new passenger car to emit less than 130g/km by 2015, with the targets being phased in gradually to apply to an increasing proportion of cars – 65 % of the fleet is taken into account for 2012 targets, rising to 100 % in 2015. Manufacturers have a long-term target of 95g CO2/km by 2020.

‘Some carmakers have made deep efficiency improvements in recent years, showing what is possible,’ EEA executive director Jacqueline McGlade said. ‘However, the transport sector needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 68% between 2010 and 2050. This objective cannot be met with technical improvements alone, it will also require a significant reduction in transport demand and a shift to greener transport modes.’

Looking at the key findings, the report found that amongst the major carmakers, Fiat scored the lowest for average emissions in 2011 at 118g/km with Daimler the highest at 153g/km but still below their individual 2012 targets. Out of the largest carmakers only Automobile Dacia SA and Mazda were outside 2012 targets in 2011 but were still very close.

In addition, five these manufacturers are also on track to meeting their 2015 target.