Environmental performance of new passenger cars increased
The environmental performance of new cars is continually improving. In 2010 the average ecoscore of the new Flemish vehicle fleet was 67.7, an increase of 7 units with respect to 2006. The whole Flemish vehicle fleet had an average ecoscore of 57.0 in 2010. A score of 61, the MINA plan 4 (2011-2015) target, seems achievable by 2015.
Of the various vehicle technologies, the electric vehicle has the highest ecoscore, followed by natural gas and LPG vehicles. New diesel cars improved the most in 2010. In 2010 their ecoscore was almost equal to that of petrol cars, but the average was still lower than that of the other technologies. This catching up is on the one hand the result of the higher proportion of diesel cars with a built-in particle filter. On the other hand, the average CO
2 emissions decreased more in 2010 than in previous years.
Since 2010, new lease cars have had a higher average ecoscore than cars owned by private persons. Policy measures for company cars namely focus mainly on the CO
2 emissions. Because they are replaced more quickly, they also have more often a particle filter. Purchased company cars are on average heavier and more powerful, and have the lowest score.