German car brands dominate top 10 cleanest league

German brands dominate a league table of the top 10 cleanest cars at fleet management and leasing specialist, Fleet Alliance, accounting for seven of the 10 positions.

Fleet Alliance compiled a list of the 10 cleanest models on its fleet from those supplied to fleet customers so far this year, ranking them by average carbon emissions with the lowest ranked first. 

Number one position went to the Volkswagen Golf with average CO2 emissions of just 113g/km. In second place with average carbon emissions of 114g/km was the Audi A3, followed by the Ford Focus with 115g/km and the most popular car so far this year in terms of orders received, the Volkswagen Passat, with 118g/km. 

Of the 10 cars listed, seven were from German manufacturers, while two executive class cars also made it into the top 10, showing just how far prestige manufacturers have come in reducing carbon emissions. (See table below for the full top 10).

As a result of the move to greener cars, Fleet Alliance has seen the average carbon emissions of all new cars ordered this year fall to a new, all-time low of 125g/km, compared with 130g/km for the same period last year, a reduction of 5g/km or 4%.

Official figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders put the average carbon emission for all new vehicles ordered in the UK last year at 138.1 g/km, substantially above the Fleet Alliance average.

For the last 18-24 months, Fleet Alliance has been advising clients of the importance of setting fleet policies that encourage take-up of low-emitting cars to capitalise on savings in tax, National Insurance and fuel costs, especially since the tax increases announced in the Budget Statement in March.

Fleet Alliance, managing director, Martin Brown (pictured) said: "Our clients have been clearly heeding our advice to switch to green alternatives for their new vehicles in the light of current and forthcoming tax legislation. And they are seeing the more immediate benefits of reduced tax and fuel costs now.

"This have been aided by the motor manufacturers who have been improving the carbon emissions on their most popular model ranges to the extent that there are now some clean, green models available that would have been unimaginable even two or three years ago.

"While we are not surprised to see German makes dominating our top 10 clean list, the presence of prestige manufacturers like Mercedes and BMW shows what great strides they have made in bringing out models that are entirely suitable for today’s emissions-led fleet market."