Car makers that fail to respect planned new EU emissions limits will have to pay "damages," European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso said in an interview to be published Sunday. "If constructors do not respect the limit, there must be consequences," Barroso told the German Bild am Sonntag weekly.
"They will have to pay a form of damages, otherwise the whole system will not be very credible," Barroso said, adding that he did not like the term "sanctions."
Under European draft regulations to be unveiled on December 19, average carbon dioxide emissions for new vehicles must be cut to 120 grams per kilometre by 2012, from around 160 at present.
European car companies have slammed the plan, saying it is unrealistic, in particular German firms which make high-performance vehicles that produce more emissions harmful to the climate.
Porsche, for instance, whose cars currently produce an average of 289 grams per kilometre at present, wants each category of vehicle to have its own separate limit. It has hinted at legal action if the EU commission does not back down.
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