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UK new car average CO2 now under 140g/km

UK motor industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) claims 56% of new cars sold in the UK during 2010 boasted carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions figures below 140g/km. New car emissions of CO2 continued to fall at an increased rate year-on-year, dropping 3.5% over 2009’s figures and representing a cumulative drop in new car CO2 emissions of 20.3% since 2000.  The data comes from the release of the SMMT’s annual New Car Carbon Dioxide (CO2) report for 2011, out today. UK vehicle fleet CO2 continues to fall The presence of lower-polluting new vehicles in the overall UK vehicle parc (the total fleet of new and existing vehicles on the roads) has driven parcwide CO2 levels down 7.8% since 2000, and 2.7% since 2009.  This is partly thanks to new vehicles, and also due to reduction of higher-polluting vehicles via legislation and scrappage incentive schemes. The overall reduction also comes in spite of an increased number of vehicles on the road, and greater average distances travelled compared to 2000. Diesel’s rise continues One notable trend has been market penetration of diesel-powered cars. In 2000 petrol powered cars held 85.9% of the market, with 14.1% diesels.

The Mitsubishi Evo is dead

As Mitsubishi shifts its global lineup toward utility vehicles and electrified cars, it will pull the plug on the Lancer Evolution at the end of the nameplate's current generation. “Mitsubishi Motors does not have any plans to design a successor with the current concept, as a high-performance four-wheel drive gasoline-powered sedan,” spokeswoman Namie Koketsu said, describing the car as having “icon” status. “Mitsubishi Motors will explore the possibilities of high-performance models that incorporate electric vehicle technology.” Dropping the Evo was foreshadowed last fall when President Osamu Masuko unveiled a new mid-term business plan that would deprioritize in-house sedans and explore sourcing them through joint projects with the Renault-Nissan Alliance.

UK Ferrari sales outstrip entire Middle East

ITALIAN supercar company Ferrari raced to a record year in 2013 on the back of expanding UK sales, selling more cars in Britain than in the Middle East and Africa combined. As a result the company made an all-time high net profit of 264 million Euros (£217 million) - a 5.4% rise on 2012. A total of 677 Ferraris were sold in the UK, with the nation overtaking Germany as the company's strongest European market and leaving the oil-rich states trailing.