Japanese car brands lead way in emissions reductions

Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan tops a new league ranking car brands on their emissions reductions.

The research has been compiled by climate change organisation CDP to rank auto manufacturers in a league table based on a number of different emissions-related metrics. CDP believes that taken in aggregate, the metrics could have a material impact on a company’s earnings in a global auto market where emissions regulation is tightening. Fleet emissions regulation now covers more than 80% of global auto sales, it maintains.

Toyota ranked in second place and Mazda in fourth. French company Renault gained third place. CDP say the brands ranked highly due to leadership in fleet emissions reduction and advanced vehicles which include battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and fuel cell vehicles.

CDP emphasises that the rankings are not intended to identify definitive winners and losers for investment purposes, but rather to indicate strategic advantage in an industry where there is a significant regulatory impact on all major auto markets.

Appearing the near the bottom of the table,  Hyundai scored D-grades for its fleet emissions in the EU, US and China, and also for its advanced vehicle range. General Motors and FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) were noted as the worst performers for CDP's fleet emissions grade and Tata Motors is the bottom-ranked company of those disclosing to CDP. This was partly due to an incomplete response to CDP’s questionnaire, together with the fact it has not released an advanced vehicle.

Access the report, ‘No room for passengers: are auto manufacturers reducing emissions quickly enough?' here.