Commission gets tough on gas guzzlers

The European Commission has sounded the death knell for gas guzzling luxury cars and so-called SUVs

Under tough new emissions controls, the European Commission is demanding that manufacturers stop producing cars with such poor emission records.
The Commission plans to close a loophole which will force heavy sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and luxury cars, including some Rolls Royce and Mercedes Benz models, to face up to the same emissions scrutiny as normal cars.

At the moment, manufacturers can exploit the rules to define heavy cars above 2,500kgs as light commercial vehicles. This means the most expensive cars on the market are treated as trucks, not passenger vehicles, where environmental controls are concerned.

Enterprise Commissioner, Guenther Verheugen said: "It won't drive them out of the market, but it will of course mean additional costs, which are perfectly justified."
The announcement on luxury cars has been accompanied by other initiatives, including new filter controls on diesel engines.

The European Commission is also pushing for more public transport fleets to switch to 'clean' energy sources.