The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has just released its 10th annual New Car CO2 Report, which shows that emissions of new cars have fallen by 3.5% in 2010 and by over 20% since 2000.

Other highlights of the reports are as follows;

• Sub 130g/km CO2 new cars now represent nearly 40% of the market (was less than 1% in 2000)
• Nearly 40,000 vehicles are now exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty, with emissions under 100g/km.
• Luxury saloons and MPVs made the the biggest reduction in CO2 over the past year, falling by 6.4% and 6.0% respectively

The European fleet emissions target is set at 130g/km by 2015 and this report clearly demonstrates that many manufacturers are on track to achieve this target.

Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive,said,”New technology has delivered impressive reductions in CO2 emissions but coordinated action, to support research and development, new infrastructure and consumer incentives, is critical to securing significant future advances. The economical and political challenges of high fuel prices, energy security and climate change are shared issues that must be addressed at an international level”.

The full SMMT New Car CO2 Report 2011 is free to download off www.smmt.co.uk

There is a direct correlation between low CO2 emissions and good fuel economy, so if you are thinking of leasing your next car, the Vehicle Type leasing shopper enables you to select body type i.e. hatchback, then choose your CO2 ranges and also the combined mpg range you want to achieve. This way you can chose the lowest CO2 car, with the best combined mpg, for your next leased vehicle.

New car registrations fell by 11.5% in January to 128,811 units which was in line with the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturer’s and Traders) expectations. Interestingly the market share for cars with a CO2 figure of less than 100g/km increased again by 65% . Average new car CO2 emissions were 141.5g/km which compares favourably to the figure in 2010, which was 144.2g/km.

Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive commented,”New car registrations fell by 11.5% in January. This is in line with SMMT forecasts and marks the beginning of a challenging year for the UK motor industry. Consumer confidence is low and it is important that government uses the March budget to help relieve some of the financial pressure on motorists by freezing fuel duty,while providing stability and certainty on motoring taxes. Despite the challenging conditions, the demand for low CO2 emitting and highly fuel efficient cars continues to grow”.

Some other interesting facts;

• In terms of market sector, Private Registrations were down by 20.8% to 51,570, Fleet (25+fleets) is down by 3.1% to 70,448 and the Business sector (under 25 fleets) fell by 11.1% to  6,793.
• Diesel new car registrations continued to grow with 65,079 vehicles registered, an increase of 8.3% year on year.
• Petrol cars fell by 25.9% (61,932 units) and AFVs (alternatively fuelled vehicles) by 2.4% (1,800 vehicles).
• The top selling car in the UK was the Ford Focus, followed by the Ford Fiesta and then the Vauxhall Astra.
• Demand for the mini and supermini segments fell (following the loss of the Scrappage Incentive Scheme) however demand for executive, luxury, MPV and dual purpose segments cars recovered strongly.

Further details can be found at the SMMT website.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has published the December and full year car, van and truck registrations with 2010 new car registrations up 1.8% on 2009. The 2010 car market rose by 35,847 units to 2,030,846 with the fleet market (25+ vehicles) rising by over 10%. Registrations in December fell by 18% to 123,817 units.

Private volumes slipped however due to the end of the Scrappage Incentive Scheme (SIS). The 2011 market is expected to decline by around 5% with a forecasted UK car registrations figure of 1.93 million units.

Here are some other highlights from the SMMT about new car registrations in 2010;

• Diesel penetration rose to a record 46.1% which was helped by the increase in MPV and SUV sales, which are usually diesel, and also due to the fall in private retail car sales due to the Scrappage Scheme, which tended to be smaller petrol models.
• The Ford Fiesta was the biggest selling new car in the UK for the second successive year and Ford was the best selling brand.
• In December however, Vauxhall was the best selling brand with the new Astra the best selling model.

Van and truck registrations

Van and truck registrations climbed by 16.4% in 2010 with full year up to 257,373 units and in December there were 20,260 registrations, up 25.6%. Vans were up by 21.7% to 17,086 in December with the full year figures finishing at 222,915, up by 19.6%.

However truck registrations rose by 51.6% to 3,174 in December with the full year down by just 0.8% and 34,458 units registered. Further details about 2010 vehicle registrations can be found at the SMMT website.

Skoda

Skoda has just been voted as the Best Car Manufacturer by the readers of What Car? magazine. The award-winning manufacturer also fared well in the individual categories with the Octavia placed first in the Small Family car group, the Octavia also came second in the Estates category and the Roomster came fourth in the highly contested MPV class. Finally the innovative Yeti came an impressive fifth in the SUV category and the Fabia had a top ten ranking in the Supermini class.

Skoda has won a variety of awards for its model range this year, including Which? Best car manufacturer of the year 2010 and Best Manufacturer in the 2010 Auto Express Driver Power survey. So before you think about leasing your next car why not have a look at Skoda business car leasing prices too?

Volkswagen Caddy

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has officially launched the new Caddy panel van and MPV range with a new advertising campaign called “Brilliant Made Better”. The theme uses a factory production robot placing a cherry on top of the new Caddy.

The new Caddy also gets its own microsite – www.brilliantmadebetter.co.uk where you will find an interactive guide to the vehicle plus an online game. David George, Head of Marketing, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said,”The Caddy is one of our best-selling model ranges in the UK, and we needed to promote all the ways in which the new Caddy is even better than the last one, while also demonstrating very clearly that at Volkswagen we always strive for excellence. We’re also pleased that the launch campaign uses the Volkswagen style of being clear and concise with a simple but humorous twist”.

C3 Picasso Blackcherry

The C3 Picasso is Citroen‘s multi award-winning supermini MPV and the new model year is getting some updates from the 1st November 2010. The new C3 Picasso model year is now available with a new Euro 5 HDi 110 engine and 6-speed transmission, plus Connecting Box (USB and Bluetooth connectivity) is a standard specification on the VTR+ and Exclusive trim levels.

The special edition Citroen C3 Picasso Blackcherry is based on the VTR+ model and will be available in a smart cherry red and glossy black exterior, with similar detailing inside the car. You also get 17-inch cherry red diamond-tipped alloy wheels, air conditioning, cruise control with speed limiter, the Connecting Box, electrically adjustable door mirrors and front electric windows. Powered by the Euro 5 1.6HDi 110hp diesel engine the car emits 125g/km of CO2 and returns 59mpg on the combined fuel cycle. Citroen business car leasing for all the new C3 models, including the Blackcherry special edition, should be loaded shortly.

Skoda GreenLine technology

Skoda Auto is unveiling their second-generation GreenLine models at the 2010 Paris International Motor Show with the Yeti crossover and Superb Estate enjoying world premiere’s of the new technology. The new second generation Skoda GreenLine models now offer a start-stop system and braking energy recuperation.

The updates to the Skoda range have significantly increased fuel efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions, with the Fabia GreenLine and Fabia Estate GreenLine offering a remarkable 83.1 combined mpg and CO2 emissions of just 89g/km. The Roomster, their compact MPV, has a fuel consumption of 67.3 combined mpg, with CO2 emissions at 109g/km, which is among the best in its class.

The Skoda Octavia is available in both hatchback and estate, with the hatchback returning 74.3 combined mpg and CO2 emissions of 99g/km while the estate offers 67.3 combined mpg and CO2 emissions at 109g/km. The Yeti GreenLine remains a very agile car so performance is not compromised, yet still returns 61.4 combined mpg and CO2 emissions of 119g/km. The Skoda Superb GreenLine option in the saloon and the estate both have a combined mpg of 64.2 and CO2 emissions of 114g/km. Skoda now offers GreenLine options across eight versions of their model range and Skoda vehicle leasing prices on the new models should be on the site shortly.

Ford Galaxy

The Ford Galaxy accounts for around 60 per cent of large MPVs sold in the UK and Addison Lee, one of the UK’s largest chauffeur and courier companies, has entered a Ford Galaxy into the annual MPG Marathon this week, in partnership with Ford. Addison Lee runs a fleet of over 2,000 Ford Galaxy vehicles.

The firm’s driver is Dean Coogan and he will be joined by Steve Moody, of FleetWorld, who aim to test the 2.0-litre diesel Ford Galaxy PowerShift automatic which has an official fuel economy of 47.1mpg and a CO2 emissions figure of 159g/km. The Ford Galaxy has also been voted the best MPV by Professional Driver magazine, which represents Britain’s private hire, chauffeur and limousine business.

CLICK to get a Ford quote

The Ford C-MAX 1.8 TDCi Style 5-door MPV is currently available on the site on special offer from £240+VAT per month on a three-year Ford business car leasing offer. If you can stretch to four years the rental is even lower at £222+VAT per month which, for car with a Manufacturer list price of £19,040, is great value for money. Combined mpg is 52.3 and CO2 emissions are 143g/km, making it an ideal company car for any small business driver with a large family. There are also several other Ford C-MAX offers on the site as well.

Ford business car leasing terms are based on the following;

- Non-maintained business car leasing over a three year contract at 10,000 miles per year – total 30,000 miles.

- Only three month rentals in advance followed by 35 subsequent rentals.

-  This totals 38 equal payments

- “With maintenance”, metallic paint and all other accessory options can be added to your vehicle at an extra cost to the rental shown above.

-  Please note the image we have shown may not represent the exact model.

-  Pricing is subject to change at any time and must be verified directly with each vehicle leasing supplier

Ultimate Family Hero

Volkswagen is set to launch a new marketing campaign to promote the launch of the new Sharan and Touran MPVs. The concept is based around modern day parents being “heroes”, capable of juggling family life and work, while still cobbling together a scale model of HMS Invincible from a lump of plasticine and a fork, ably assisted by a new Sharan or Touran.

From the 23rd of August, you can access the Ultimate Family Hero website, upload an image and have it turned, through the power of “heroiser”, into the superhero of your choice, before creating your own comic book cover. Then share with your friends via Facebook, or you can enter your comic book cover into a competition to win a new Sharan or Touran.

All nominations will be displayed in the “Superheroes Gallery” (online) and three finalists will be chosen. The three finalists will then be set a series of challenging “missions”, for example the “ultimate school run” in the new Touran or Sharan. All the footage of these  ”missions” will be posted onto the website and the public will vote for the winner. The campaign will also hit the road shortly with a series of displays at UK shopping centres nationwide.