Europe agrees new emissions laws

New European Union regulations will force manufacturers to reduce the average CO2 emissions of their new cars to a maximum of 130g/km by 2015.

Car manufacturers must hit the target on a sliding scale:

65% of new cars must reach 130g/km by 2012

75% by 2013

80% by 2014

100% by 2015

The 130g/km figure is roughly equivalent to achieving 58mpg in a diesel-powered car, and 52mpg in a petrol model.

Manufacturers that fail to meet the targets will be fined.

Niche manufacturers that produce between 10,000-300,000 units a year will be expected to deliver a 25% reduction on their 2007 average emissions by 2015. Small volume manufacturers that produce less than 10,000 models per year will have separate targets.

These figures mean that Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin are counted as small and niche manufacturers.