US Gaining Ground on Green Europe - Yea!

Washington DC February 21, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that the general conception is that US consumers buy gas-guzzling, polluting cars and SUVs while Europeans favor smaller, more efficient cars that produce less CO2.

However, Automotive News sees a shift taking place in the production of environmentally-friendly vehicles. In Europe, many cars emit high CO2 volumes, as they are tuned for the Autobahn speeds. Biofuels and other solutions are not widely available across Europe because national governments can't agree on taxation and infrastructure costs.

Meanwhile, the US is moving forward with energy alternatives. Hybrid sales are rising in the US and both Asian and domestic carmakers offer a growing model range. Gasoline in the US contains more biofuel additives than in Europe and E85 biofuel is increasingly available.

In addition, US and Japanese automakers are developing concepts for plug-in electric cars. European automakers still have not developed a hybrid ready for the market, let alone a plug-in vehicle.

Europe, and much of the rest of the world, has criticized the US on global warming. But when the EU earlier this month came up with a plan to reduce CO2 emissions, European automakers recoiled.

If attitudes don't change, European automakers run the risk of being left behind by Japan and the US.