Stiffer Emissions Standards May Give European Technological Head Start

The European Automotive Suppliers Association (CLEPA) believes that smart regulation could give Europe a head start in terms of technology that would give the European auto industry a worldwide boost. 

CLEPA is supporting the EU's attempt to reduce CO2 emissions to an average of 95g/km of CO2 by 2020. DaimlerDaimlerGermany, 1889 > present12 models
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and BMWBMWGermany, 1918 > present87 models
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are still opposing the law because it would harm their sales of large luxury sedans. However, CLEPA's belief is that further regulation would foster investment in new technology that could be sold worldwide. It would also mean lighter materials and more efficient powertrains.

"Regulation fosters investment," said Plastic Omnium CEO Laurent Burelle.

CLEPA predicts that the plastic content in cars will rise from 17% to 25% in the coming years.

The other major innovation coming to cars soon is car-to-x communication that connects cars to each other and to the infrastructure. It will allow for safer autonomous driving because a car's system will know what the cars around it are doing and know about upcoming changes in traffic

In addition to making cars lighter, the other major future target is lowering CO2 emissions. Critics like lobbying group Transport and Environment claim that the current CO2 test does not accurately reflect real world emissions. The critics advocate a new, tougher test that would better reflect the way cars are actually driven. They recommend switching to the UN's newly proposed World Light Test Procedure that tests each car for 30 minutes with only brief moments of driving at a constant speed and several complete stops.

The compromise between the suppliers and automakers may be for tests to take the cost of lower emissions into account in testing. 

"If we do this right in Europe, it could be a blueprint we could sell abroad. But we have to do this now. Then we will remain the powerhouse of the global automotive industry," said automotive consultant Peter Fuss.

Source: Automotive News Europe