Volvo, BMW and Mercedes-Benz : best polluters of the car industry in Europe
I found some interesting data in a recent study published by the European Federation for Transport and Environnement. This study, “How clean is your car brand?”, presents the efforts made by manufacturers to reduce CO2 emissions. But that’s not the most interesting way to present that kind of data. Actually, their raking is based on the comparison between a target level of emissions in g/km and a reached level. That shows the efforts. But that does not show which brand is the most polluting one.
That’s why I decided to sort the data by level of emissions in
| Ranking | Brand | 1997 average CO2 emissions in g/km | 2005 average CO2 emissions in g/km | Evolution |
| 1 | Volvo | 219 | 195 | -24 |
| 2 | BMW | 216 | 192 | -24 |
| 3 | Mercedes-Benz | 223 | 185 | -38 |
| 4 | Audi | 190 | 177 | -13 |
| 5 | Mazda | 186 | 177 | -9 |
| 6 | Nissan | 177 | 172 | -5 |
| 7 | Kia | 202 | 170 | -32 |
| 8 | Hyundai | 189 | 170 | -19 |
| 9 | Honda | 184 | 166 | -18 |
| 10 | Suzuki | 169 | 165 | -4 |
| 11 | Toyota | 189 | 163 | -26 |
| 12 | Volkswagen | 170 | 159 | -11 |
| 13 | Opel/Vauxhall | 180 | 156 | -24 |
| 14 | Skoda | 165 | 152 | -13 |
| 15 | Ford | 180 | 151 | -29 |
| 16 | Peugeot | 177 | 151 | -26 |
| 17 | Seat | 158 | 150 | -8 |
| 18 | Renault | 173 | 149 | -24 |
| 19 | Citroën | 172 | 144 | -28 |
| 20 | Fiat | 169 | 139 | -30 |
Bronze medal : Mercedes-Benz! Even with the best efforts made among the ranked manufacturers to reduce emissions, the brand didn’t manage to avoid the podium. With an average emission of 185g of CO2 per km, they maintain themselves within the best polluters. But the manufacturer has no “green communication”. It seems like they’re working seriously. No greenwash case!
Silver medal : BMW! Another German brand on the podium. The Munich based company sells less cars than Mercedes-Benz but pollutes a bit more! It allows them to get the second place.
But heir communication on emissions is transparent. You can download data concerning CO2 emissions for each car on their institutional website. No greenwash case!
And the winner is... Volvo! With 195g/km, the competition has been fierce with BMW but they finally grabbed the 
top place.
On their website, you can check the “environment” page (there). This is pretty interesting... On the french version, the first thing you read is : RESPIREZ A FOND! (BREATHE DEEPLY!), with butterflies and flowers... Greenwash case! Obviously, they try to make customers think they’re buying clean cars that do not pollute... The website presents things in a oriented way that lets the reader think that results of researches are already applied in manufactured cars. But that’s not true!
They all say they’re working on “clean” propulsion solutions, but they still produce and sell polluting cars. And this sector is one of the main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. It has a huge responsibility in global warming. Beyond these lines, there is a big problem : in which world do we want to live in coming years? If we want to avoid catastrophic consequences of our irresponsible activities on Earth, we have to act. It supposes we're aware of what we're talking about. And we're talking about polluting transport means. We're still polluting, and the only way out is to develop "clean" means of propulsion. Reducing emissions is the wrong answer to our future.
Now, thanks to Sustainable Illusion, you’re AWARE of what you’re buying!
Source : How clean is your car brand?