NGVs high on VCD list

© VCD/Benjamin PritzkuleitAlthough we regret the CNG minicar trio didn't win, we congratulate the winners nonetheless!

It's no mystery by now that the said trio are the Volkswagen eco up!/Seat Mii Ecofuel/Skoda Citigo GreenTec triplets, manufactured together at VW Group's plant in Bratislava, Slovakia. The cars received 8,03 points out of 10 (in the Best Climate category), but more importantly they were only 0,05 points behind this year's winner, the hybrid Lexus CT200h (and 0,02 points behind the runner-up, the Peugeot 208 BlueHDi 100 Stop & Start). Other NGVs have ranked high, too – Audi A3 Sportback g-tron was sixth in the compact class category, while Volkswagen Golf Variant TGI BlueMotion came fourth in the family car category.

Howeever, the VCD points out that the alternative fuel and energy segment has become rather stale, with not a single truly revolutionary idea among the over 400 cars presented for evaluation this year. According to the institution, car manufacturers need to become more active and creative in the field of green motoring if the 2020 fleet CO₂ emissions goal of 95 g/km is to be met. Today it is achieved by 71 models – which is already quite something, but on the other hand it seems modest given the variety of cars available. The eco up!/Mii EcoFuel/Citigo GreenTec trio emits 79 g/km on average.

Only last week the Federal Environmental Agency has made it clear that transport emits too many greenhouse gases, and remains the most difficult area in climate protection. The federal government must act and finally implement climate protection consistently. Especially the legislature, which can create incentives is, inter alia, updating by an ambitious threshold at a European level, so that automakers reduce CO₂ emissions further and this also in actual operation.

VCD National Chairman Michael Ziesak