Most climate-friendly car manufacturers

BMW, Daimler and Toyota are the most climate-friendly car manufacturers, according to The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), an international non-profit organisation, while Japanese car maker Subaru came bottom of the list. The CDP ranked responses from 16 manufacturers on their progress towards three key goals: meeting regulatory emissions standards, strategies on using self-driving technology and renewable energy, and management incentives to lower carbon emissions. Paul Simpson, CEO of CDP commented: “The auto sector is the poster child for the future of industry as we know it. Tech and software disrupters have forced this high-emitting industry to innovate at a pace faster than it perhaps feels comfortable with. It is promising to see traditional carmakers step up to the mark to meet global shifts in demand for EVs. Only time will tell if new market entrants such as Uber and Google will alter consumer demands in the long-term. Regardless, auto manufacturers should quickly adopt new business models to ensure their survival in the low-carbon transition.” Electric vehicles could become as affordable as traditional petrol and diesel cars as soon as 2022 and a third of new cars sales are expected to be zero emissions and plug-in hybrid by 2030, CDP predicted. That would translate to a market worth around $1 trillion market, based on the organisation’s figures. Car companies are already making big investments into new technologies, with around $11bn spent buying up autonomous and shared vehicle companies, including Lyft, in the last two years. But CDP said more still needs to be done to ensure companies keep up with the pace of change required, and governance and remuneration structures need to be more closely aligned with the low carbon transition.