Volvo and spin-off sibling brand Polestar say they will reduce their fleet emissions beyond their European Union target for 2020 – and have agreed to pool their CO2 output with Ford as a result.
Current European Commission regulations mean that each manufacturer has to hit a set average fleet CO2 target, with those targets becoming increasingly tough in future years. The EU rules allow for manufacturers to form 'pools', effectively combining their fleets. This allows firms that would miss their target to partner with companies that are exceeding their goals to avoid fines.
Ford had said it would seek to join a pool after problems with the delivery of the Kuga plug-in hybrid meant it would miss its 2020 EU target. It has now reached an agreement with Volvo, although the financial terms have not been disclosed.
Volvo has heavily invested in pushing development of electric and hybrid technology, with the goal to achieve 50% EV and 50% hybrid sales by 2025. Sibling firm Polestar is focused on fully electric cars, such as the recently launched Polestar 2.
Volvo boss Håkan Samuelsson said the revenue from the deal with Ford will be invested in new projects to develop its 'green' technology further. He said: “I am pleased to see that we are exceeding our CO2 reduction targets. It proves our strategy is the right one for our business and for the planet.”
Meanwhile, the Volkswagen Group has reached an agreement with SIAC for the Chinese firm's European operations, including MG, to join its EU CO2 pool. Given MG's success with electric models, that agreement will help the VW Group meets its targets during the roll-out of new electric models such as the Volkswagen ID 3.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles already has an agreement with Tesla to help meet its CO2 targets, while Groupe Renault is also seeking partners for an open pool.
READ MORE
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Ludicrous!
I still think the EU fines system is fundamentally flawed if manufacturers would prefer to give money to a rival rather than the EU.
Perhaps if the EU fine was less and was invested into a charging infrastructure or given back to the manufacturer ring fenced for EV development they'd be more incentive to pay it.
harf wrote:
Fixed it for you.
Ford, how the mighty have fallen
So dependent on a single phev that when it catches fire they have to go begging to a much smaller brand. They did not see the winds of change in Europe and are paying big time.
xxxx wrote:
Difficult to understand how unprepared companies have been for this, they've known about it for a long time. But then this is Ford. JLR seem to have been hit with a £90m fine too.
Rumours slowly spreading through the industry of Ford effectively pulling out of Europe with their own models, what's not clear though is whether they pullout all together or jump in with another brand to platform share or badge engineer.
xxxx wrote:
Wow, once again with your ignorance, unless you have missed the news Ford are not the only manufacturer with PHEV overheating problems, the mighty BMW have exactly the same issue, but on a far greater scale because they produce more, and it also affect Mini because they use the same batteries as BMW. At least Ford are partnering with a brand it has historical ties with (Volvo) VW have had to go running to Chinese MG ffs, now how the mightiest have really fallen.
Citytiger wrote:
You are so lame. Where did I say ford were the only ones, I have even mentioned BMW in other post you ignorant arse. This story is about ford so stay on subject
Citytiger wrote:
Haven't VW and SAIC (who own MG) already worked together? some SAIC brands having been based on VW products iirc, so that would show that they too have partnered with a brand they have previous ties with?
Personally I think the whole sharing your co2 output with others is a farce.
si73 wrote:
Yep, SAIC and Volkswagen have been making cars together since the eighties for the Asian market. Of course it doesn't make it out to be newsworthy story if that is pointed out by the automotive media.
I don't understand how the EU rulemakers have allowed these technicalities, credit purchases from cleaner manufacturers and pooling from worldwide manufacturers. Kind of defeats the purpose of the regulation.