Putting a cap on CO2 emissions from light commercial vehicles looks set to be high on Europe’s agenda during 2010.

The European Commission has proposed a limit of 175g/km (equating to 42.8mpg) from 2014 at which time 75% of van fleets sold in Europe must meet the average figure.

By 2015 it would increase to 80% and 100% by 2016, with an average threshold of 135g/km CO2 proposed for 2020. The fleet average is currently 203g/km.

Spain has made the environment a priority for its presidency of the EU, which began on January 1, and sees progress on the proposals for van CO2 regulation as an important element in its plans.

The European Commission has proposed that manufacturers would face fines ranging from £3 per vehicle for the first 1g/km exceeded up to £100 for each vehicle that fails by 4g/km or more.

But, with seven-year LCV product development cycles, the industry feels the lead-in times are too short to allow the delivery of affordable products to the market.