Volvo Car Corporation tops the tables among European carmakers when it comes to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, according to the sixth annual analysis conducted by T&E, the European Federation for Transport and Environment.

"We are delighted and very proud of this result,” said Stefan Jacoby, president and CEO of Volvo Car Corporation. “We are following our ambitious plan which puts the spotlight on cutting carbon dioxide emissions.”

Europe's eight largest carmakers cut their CO2 emissions by an average of two to 6% in 2010, while Volvo achieved a 9% reduction.

The manufacturer says this is the result of a concerted environmental focus under the "DRIVe towards zero" banner.

Examples of popular models are the V50 DRIVe with emissions of 99 g/km and the V70 DRIVe with 119 g/km. Volvo Car Corporation's CO2 strategy also includes electrified cars with varying degrees of hybridisation, even more efficient diesel and petrol engines, and alternative fuels.

"The aim is to come down to an average of 95g/km across our total car sales in 2020. In theory that is entirely feasible, but a lot depends on developments in legislation, incentives, energy availability and of course customer demand. In addition, the EU intends to introduce a new method for calculating carbon dioxide, and this too will impact our plan," said Peter Mertens, senior vice president research and development at Volvo Car Corporation.

The analysis by the European Federation for Transport and Environment shows how well European car manufacturers have succeeded in cutting CO2 emissions and fuel consumption in new cars. Carbon dioxide emissions from new cars sold in the EU dropped by 3.7% in 2010, and today the average figure for new cars sold in Europe is 140g/km.