Nissan, Renault, BMW and Toyota top a league table for car manufacturers' exposure to climate regulation.
The CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project, analysed 15 of the world’s largest automakers and scored them according to emissions from their fleets and from the manufacture of vehicles. Firms were also rated on their development of battery electric (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric (PHEVs) and fuel cell vehicles (FCVs). Each manufacturer was assessed on their public attitude to regulation on climate change and carbon emissions.
The four leading carmakers were given scores of A or B across all categories, except for Nissan, which received a C for fleet emissions and a D for manufacturing emissions. BMW moved from eighth place in last year’s ranking to third place this year, mainly due to its support for positive climate regulations and its aggressive development pipeline of PHEVs.
BMW was one of four companies rated A for manufacturing emissions. The others were Daimler, Volkswagen (VW) and Italian company FCA (Fiat-Chrysler). The research found that 17% of total emissions come from manufacturing, with 14% coming from the supply chain.
VW plummeted from sixth place last year 11th after receiving an E for fleet emissions following last year’s emissions scandal. The launch of five new models and a three-fold increase in sales of electric and fuel cell vehicles in the past year saw the German company score an A ranking in this category, up from a C in 2015.
Suzuki, Tata Motors, Hyundai and FCA scored lowest in the rankings overall, with Tata and Suzuki ranked particularly badly on development of advanced vehicles and manufacturing emissions. FCA and Hyundai were found to be anti-carbon regulation, both scoring an E in this category, while Kia did not disclose any data to the CDP.
Paul Simpson, chief executive of the CDP, said: ‘It’s time for car makers to take climate change seriously. Six months on from the VW emissions scandal, today’s new investor research shows that too many companies still fall short in the light of stringent regulation and possible penalties on fleet emissions and that’s a significant risk for the sector as a whole.’
