The Global Fuel Economy Initiative enters RAC Future Car Challenge

GFEI enters RAC Future Car Challenge

The leading global authority on vehicle fuel economy is entering the RAC Future Car Challenge. The Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI) which brings together major international experts on fuel economy is sponsoring and taking part in the Brighton to London low fuel event.

The GFEI is a partnership of the independent UK-based charity FIA Foundation, the UN Environment Programme, the International Energy Agency, the International Transport Forum, the International Council on Clean Transportation, and the University of California, Davis Institute of Transportation Studies.

With the global car fleet predicted to triple by 2050, the GFEI looks at ways to reconcile legitimate aspirations for mobility with an ambitious reduction in CO2 emissions from cars worldwide amid a tough global economic outlook.

Maximising fuel efficiency in the on-road vehicle fleet globally is essential. The GFEI has shown that just by using existing cost effective technologies in all vehicles we could halve CO2 emissions from the global fleet by 2050.

The GFEI does not back any manufacturer or technology and is fully independent. The GFEI has entered different cars from different manufacturers each year that it has taken part in the Future Car Challenge. This year, the GFEI is entering a KIA Rio 1.1 CRDI '1' Eco.

The event has proven an interesting exercise in comparing an on road performance over the Brighton-London route with manufacturers' claims on fuel economy. It also throws a useful spotlight on the role of driving technique in achieving a low fuel performance.

Sheila Watson, Director of Environment at the FIA Foundation said: "The Future Car Challenge really does highlight some of the key issues in vehicle fuel economy - particularly the role of driving technique, the on road performance as compared to the official mpg, and the scope for even more improvement with all vehicle technologies. Across the event, performance in fuel economy has improved each year of the challenge. We're expecting the FCC this year to provide another fascinating test."