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The European Commission proposal to cut carbon dioxide emissions to an average of 130 g/km per vehicle by 2012 are "not feasible" and would force the automotive industry out of Europe, the head of the European automotive manufacturers' group told members of the European Parliament today.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, who is president of ACEA, told the Kangaroo Group of MEPs that the European carmakers had delivered on promises to cut emissions.

He said: "Between 1995 and 2005 emissions from new cars have decreased by over 13 per cent, mainly through vehicle technology. These results could have been better, had there not been the counter-productive effects of EU regulations, market trends and low demand for fuel efficiency." These counter- productive elements, he said, accounted for almost 15 g/km of CO2.

Marchionne said that the majority of emissions today were caused by older cars, by increases in traffic and congestion, and a lack of traffic management.

He said: "It is very important that governments and the public at large understand these developments and design a policy that addresses the true challenge, maximising results in the most cost-effective way.

"The industry will continue to take many incremental steps, again delivering significant CO2 reductions in the coming years. But additional requirements on the car industry cannot be implemented before 2015. The production of cars is planned
well ahead and only very limited changes can be made afterwards."

But far more importantly, Marchionne added, "vehicle technology alone will not solve the problem. It is absolutely crucial to implement an integrated approach to achieve the ambitious targets society wants, combining vehicle technology with a larger use of alternative fuels, intelligent traffic management, changes in driving style and implementation of CO2-related taxation, to shape consumer demand."

The European Parliament is now the focus of campaigning efforts for and against the Commission proposal to curb CO2 emissions, with MEPs due to debate and decide the policy by the end of this year.

Marchionne's indication that emission restrictions could be acceptable with a 2015 start date, instead of 2012, may offer a potential way forward. With Japan set to curb emissions to 138 g/km by 2015, a stiffer target for the same year in Europe would allow EU politicians to claim the moral high ground without setting targets that the industry would struggle to meet.