European and Asian auto makers must do more to meet voluntary targets to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from new cars or face possible legislative action, the European Union's executive arm said on Tuesday.
The European Commission said average CO2 emissions from new cars in the 15 "old" EU member states in 2004 were down 12.4 percent from 1995 levels, far off the target of a roughly 25 percent cut by 2008/09.
"The situation is not satisfactory. I urge industry to step up their efforts," Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said in a statement.
The 2004 figures showed a slight improvement from 2003, when new car emissions were down 11.8 percent from 1995 levels.
European car makers have agreed to reduce C02 emissions from new cars to an average of 140 g/km by 2008, while Japanese and Korean manufacturers have agreed to meet that goal by 2009. The target represents a cut of around 25 percent from 1995 levels.
Verheugen and Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said in the statement they would consider taking legislative measures if auto makers did not meet those commitments.
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association pledged to keep working on the problem but described consumer demand for "safer and larger cars" as having a counterproductive effect on reducing car pollution.
It called on policy makers to create tax incentives to prod consumers to buy less-polluting cars.
"There is now a need to link the taxation of cars and of alternative fuels more vigorously to CO2 emissions," ACEA Secretary General Ivan Hodac said in a statement.
Germany's BMW said in March it will start serial production within two years of cars that burn hydrogen in modified engines, beginning with a few hundred cars that can switch between petrol and hydrogen so drivers are not stranded seeking a hydrogen pump.
Within Europe, vehicles with hybrid motors - which combine a standard engine to electric motors and a battery - are on the rise but still represent well less than 1 percent of new cars registered.
The auto industry's CO2 agreements make up part of the 25-country EU's efforts to meet its commitments to fight climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.
Under Kyoto, the EU's 15 "old" member states must reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 8 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.
The Commission said cars were responsible for more than 10 percent of the EU's CO2 emissions.
Car makers are in no hurry to see CO2 targets bundled into mandatory legislation. France's PSA Peugeot Citroen said the company found it too premature to speak about new laws because the voluntary targets applied for 2008.
"In general we are against legislation because it is a free market and in the end the consumer decides," said spokesman Marc Bouque, adding carmakers cannot force consumers to buy more environmentally-friendly cars.
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