FLENSBURG (dpa-AFX) - Cars newly registered so far this year are emitting significantly more CO2 than in 2022, with the Federal Motor Transport Authority citing 123.2 grams per kilometer as the average passenger car figure for January to April. By contrast, the average for 2022 was only 109.6 grams.

The main reason for this can also be found in the KBA statistics: the share of purely electric cars and plug-in hybrids has fallen sharply since the beginning of the year. While they together still accounted for around 30 percent of new registrations in 2022, from January to April the figure was only around 20 percent. "This is where the fact that the demand has been slashed is taking its toll," says industry expert Ferdinand Dudenhoffer. "This has taken the air out of plug-in hybrids in particular, and they have slumped compared to the very strong previous year."

Because pure electric cars emit no CO2 at all locally and plug-in hybrids emit much less CO2 than pure internal combustion vehicles, at least according to the official figures, they push down the overall average. In 2022, the figures for pure combustion engines were 150.5 grams per kilometer for gasoline cars and as much as 168 grams for diesels.

The KBA statistics also show which brands had the highest average CO2 emissions per kilometer in new registrations from January to April. Lamborghini and Rolls Royce are at the top of the list for passenger cars, with emissions well in excess of 300 grams - albeit with very low new registration figures. Among the major brands with at least 10,000 new passenger car registrations since the beginning of the year, Porsche has the highest figure at 208.2 grams.

The three major German premium brands are close together but also above average: according to the KBA, Mercedes has an average value of 136.4 grams, Audi 135.5 and BMW 133.7 grams. VW comes in at 129.8 grams, Opel at 114.5./ruc/DP/zb