A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Citroën aims big
Citroën will offer its new electric C-Zero supermini on a four-year lease for business customers with a monthly charge of under €500 excluding VAT when it comes to market in the coming months. Effectively a rebadged Mitsubishi i-Miev, it’s part of a new model assault from the brand that includes its new C4, the recently launched C3 and the return of the iconic DS moniker, initially with the DS3.
The DS4 (below) is due to arrive here this autumn, while the DS5 is due in showrooms for the start of next year. Citroën hopes to secure a 5 per cent market share in Ireland within five years. It finished last year with 1.4 per cent share of the Irish new car market.
Fiat’s clear cost
Fiat is introducing “on the road” pricing for its Panda, Grande Punto and Punto Evo models in its advertisements, giving customers the final price for the car. This price will be inclusive of all delivery and related charges such as the pre-delivery inspection, valet and number plates.
Fiat says the initiative is aimed at value-driven customers who will, it is expected, appreciate the transparency. Irish car buyers have complained that most car firms still publish list prices that omit delivery and related charges, which can amount to €600 or more. It’s hoped that Fiat’s move will be repeated by others.
Curbing fuel use an uphill task
PETROL AND diesel-engined passenger cars should not allowed in European city centres by 2050, under new proposals from the European Commission. EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas (left) said in a strategy paper that greenhouse gas emissions from transport should be cut to about a fifth below current levels by 2030, and to 60 per cent below 1990 levels by 2050.
In the long term, that means eliminating oil-fuelled motor cars from cities, shifting half of road freight on to trains and barges, and getting about 40 per cent of aviation fuel from biofuels. The economic crisis has made the objective more pressing, as the EU spends about €210 billion a year on oil imports.
However, critics said his strategy postponed most of the action. The 2030 goal of a 20 per cent cut in emissions is based on cuts from recent levels, but it fails to cancel out a rise of about a third since 1990, mainly caused by increasing car ownership and cheaper flights. Compared to the 1990 baseline, Kallas’s target amounts to an 8 per cent increase.
“This Commission paper blatantly passes the buck to the next generation,” said Franziska Achterberg of Greenpeace. “The transport sector will become Europe’s biggest source of carbon emissions. This strategy will do nothing to protect the EU from volatile oil prices.”
In response, Kallas pointed out that “Freedom to travel is a basic right for our citizens, and is critical to the development of Europe’s business sector.”
A separate report on Monday highlighted the rapid success in curbing emissions from passenger cars, even with modest goals. Toyota has nearly reached its 2015 fuel-efficiency target with roughly four years to spare, and Portugal’s car market is already there, the report said.