European Commission confirms 2020 emission targets for cars and vans

The European Commission put forward proposals to implement targets that will further considerably reduce CO2 emissions from new cars and light commercial vehicles by 2020. The proposals will cut average emissions from new cars to 95 grams of CO2 per km (g CO2/km) in 2020 from 135.7g in 2011 and a mandatory target of 130g in 2015. Emissions from vans will be reduced to 147g CO2/km in 2020 from 181.4g in 2010 (the latest year for which figures are available) and a mandatory target of 175g in 2017.
Connie Hedegaard, EU Commissioner for Climate Action, said : "with our proposals, we are not only protecting the climate and saving consumers money. We are also boosting innovation and competitiveness in the European automotive industry. And we will create substantial numbers of jobs as a result. This is a clear win-win situation for everyone".
CLEPA welcomes theses proposals. "The 2020 targets are achievable, economically sound and cost effective, said Jean Marc Gales, CEO of this european suppliers association. The technology is already available and affordable. Limiting emissions to 95 gr/Km would add around 1000 euros to the price of car and that would be quickly paid off through savings in fuels consumption".
According to the Commission, each new car will on average save its owner around € 340 in fuel costs in the first year, and an estimated total of € 2904-3836 over the car's lifetime (13 years), as compared with the 2015 target. For vans the average fuel cost saving is estimated at around €400 in the first year and €3363-4564 over their 13-year lifetime.
Overall, consumers will save around € 30 bn per year in fuel costs and it is estimated that the targets could increase EU GDP by € 12 bn annually and spending on employment by some € 9 bn a year. The proposals would in total save 160 million tonnes of oil – worth around € 70 bn at today's prices - and around 420 million tonnes of CO2 in the period to 2030.

Towards zero accident with Volvo in 2020

By developing several new high-tech safety solutions, Volvo Car Corporation is taking a major step toward its 2020 goal that nobody should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car.
The swedish OEM research focuses on three main areas: staying safely in the current lane, avoiding accidents at crossroads and junctions, and avoiding collisions with wild animals.

The following research projects are currently under way:
- Autonomous Driving Support Intersection Support
- Animal Detection (a system that detects and automatically brakes for animals both in daylight and in the dark, a further development of the pedestrian protection system)
- Autonomous driving in traffic queues
- Autonomous Driving Support helps the driver stay in his or her lane and follow the rhythm of the traffic if queues build up.
Volvo Car Corporation's safety approach is about getting cars to behave like people. The sensors (cameras, radar) are the eyes, the computers are the brain and the brakes are the muscles.

Cars 21 reports a vision for 2020

As part of the Commission's modern industrial policy, the CARS 21 (Competitive Automotive Regulatory System for the 21st century) made recommendations for 2020 to reach new heights.
It's a call for rapid progress on important subjects such as electro-mobility, road safety, market access strategy and a review of the CO2 emissions from cars and vans.
Cars 21 claims the roll out of alternative infrastructure to support new energies, standardisation issues for the breakthrough of electrical cars, the EIB financing for research, a new driving test-cycle and test procedure in order to reduce CO2 emissions, as well as ICT technologies supporting driver behaviour and road safety.
The car of 2020 should be clean, fuel-efficient, quiet, safe and connected. 

Link : http://cesa-automotive-electronics.blogspot.fr/