How EU new-car CO2 fell 2020-2024

Background

Average CO2 emissions from newly registered cars fell across the 4 countries covered here between 2020 and 2024, though the path was not uniform in every market. The findings track Germany, Spain, France, and Italy, pairing annual registration totals with average CO2 values for each year from 2020 through 2024.

Across those markets, France posted the lowest 2024 average at 94.1, while Germany stood at 117.1, Spain at 117.7, and Italy at 119.8. The largest decline over the period also belonged to France, where the average moved from 121.0 in 2020 to 94.1 in 2024, a drop of 26.9.

The dataset addresses EU new-car CO2 emissions at country level for these 4 markets. It does not provide worldwide car CO2 emissions, country totals outside this group, or a way to identify the CO2 output of an individual vehicle.

The country picture from 2020 to 2024

The broad direction was downward in all 4 countries, but with different starting points and different year-to-year patterns.

Country	2020 CO2 avg	2024 CO2 avg	Drop
FR	121.0	94.1	26.9
DE	136.1	117.1	19.0
ES	135.4	117.7	17.7
IT	132.4	119.8	12.6

France led the reduction table. Germany began the period with the highest average in this group at 136.1 and ended 2024 at 117.1. Spain moved from 135.4 to 117.7. Italy declined from 132.4 to 119.8, the smallest drop among the 4.

That means the headline story is not simply that emissions fell everywhere, but that the pace of change varied sharply. France separated itself from the rest by 2024, while Germany, Spain, and Italy remained clustered in a narrower band between 117.1 and 119.8.

Annual trends by market

The yearly sequence shows where progress was steady and where it stalled or reversed.

Year	DE	ES	FR	IT
2020	136.1	135.4	121.0	132.4
2021	113.6	125.9	108.5	120.2
2022	106.0	121.6	102.9	119.1
2023	113.0	117.4	96.7	120.0
2024	117.1	117.7	94.1	119.8

France was the clearest example of a sustained decline, moving from 121.0 in 2020 to 108.5 in 2021, 102.9 in 2022, 96.7 in 2023, and 94.1 in 2024. No reversal appears in the French series.

Spain also trended downward for most of the period, from 135.4 in 2020 to 125.9 in 2021, 121.6 in 2022, and 117.4 in 2023, before edging to 117.7 in 2024.

Germany showed the sharpest early fall, dropping from 136.1 in 2020 to 113.6 in 2021 and 106.0 in 2022. But that was followed by a rebound to 113.0 in 2023 and 117.1 in 2024.

Italy declined from 132.4 in 2020 to 120.2 in 2021 and 119.1 in 2022, then moved slightly higher at 120.0 in 2023 and 119.8 in 2024. In other words, Italy improved over the full period, but the later years were comparatively flat.

Registration volumes and market context

The findings also include annual registration totals, which show that these CO2 averages were recorded in very different market sizes.

Country	2020 registrations	2021 registrations	2022 registrations	2023 registrations	2024 registrations
DE	2,818,147	2,517,287	2,559,638	2,749,057	2,712,259
ES	913,554	897,912	837,393	966,712	1,047,377
FR	1,758,155	1,774,646	1,635,620	1,886,295	1,817,361
IT	1,371,169	1,448,751	1,308,812	1,560,177	1,550,879

Germany remained the largest market in this group in every year shown, with 2,712,259 registrations in 2024. France followed at 1,817,361, Italy at 1,550,879, and Spain at 1,047,377.

Those totals matter for context because the emissions averages were not recorded in niche markets. France’s 94.1 in 2024 was attached to 1,817,361 registrations, while Germany’s 117.1 was attached to 2,712,259. Spain’s 117.7 came with 1,047,377 registrations, and Italy’s 119.8 with 1,550,879.

France’s standout decline

France is the clear outlier in this dataset, both for the size of its reduction and for the consistency of its annual movement. Its average CO2 value fell from 121.0 in 2020 to 94.1 in 2024, a drop of 26.9, the largest among the 4 countries.

That decline was visible year after year: 121.0, 108.5, 102.9, 96.7, and 94.1. By 2023 France had already moved below 100 at 96.7, and it improved again in 2024.

France also ended the period well below the other markets in the comparison. In 2024, France was at 94.1, while Germany was at 117.1, Spain at 117.7, and Italy at 119.8. The findings identify France as the leader country, with a leader drop of 26.9.

For readers asking about EU new-car CO2 emissions regulation, this dataset does not set out the rules themselves. What it does show is the market outcome: among these 4 major countries, France recorded the lowest average new-car CO2 figure by 2024.

Germany, Spain, and Italy: different paths after early declines

The other 3 countries all reduced average CO2 emissions over the full period, but none matched France’s uninterrupted downward path.

Germany’s pattern was the most volatile. It started at 136.1 in 2020, dropped to 113.6 in 2021 and 106.0 in 2022, then rose to 113.0 in 2023 and 117.1 in 2024. Even with that rebound, Germany still posted a full-period drop of 19.0.

Spain’s trend was steadier. It moved from 135.4 in 2020 to 125.9 in 2021, 121.6 in 2022, and 117.4 in 2023, before a slight increase to 117.7 in 2024. Its total decline over the period was 17.7.

Italy had the smallest full-period reduction at 12.6. The sequence was 132.4 in 2020, 120.2 in 2021, 119.1 in 2022, 120.0 in 2023, and 119.8 in 2024. That suggests most of the improvement came early, with little additional movement in the final 2 years.

What the findings can and cannot answer

The findings are specific: they cover average CO2 emissions for newly registered cars in 4 European countries from 2020 to 2024, alongside annual registration counts. They can answer questions such as the average new-car CO2 figure in France in 2024, or which country saw the largest decline between 2020 and 2024.

They cannot answer questions about worldwide CO2 emissions from cars, global CO2 emissions in 2024, or CO2 emissions by country in 2024 beyond Germany, Spain, France, and Italy. They also cannot identify the CO2 emissions of a particular car or vehicle in the UK, because no UK data or model-level data appears in the findings.

For UK-specific questions, including UK car emissions in 2024 or UK CO2 emissions in 2023, the dataset provides no figures. For “what is my car’s CO2 emissions,” it likewise offers no vehicle-specific lookup.

Takeaways

The central result is straightforward: average CO2 emissions from new cars fell between 2020 and 2024 in all 4 countries covered here. France led both on the size of the decline and on the lowest ending level, moving from 121.0 to 94.1 and posting a drop of 26.9.

Germany, Spain, and Italy also improved, but with more limited declines and less consistent year-to-year progress. Germany fell from 136.1 to 117.1, Spain from 135.4 to 117.7, and Italy from 132.4 to 119.8.

By 2024, the country ranking on average CO2 was France at 94.1, Germany at 117.1, Spain at 117.7, and Italy at 119.8. On the evidence in these findings, France was the standout performer in this group over 2020 to 2024.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Which country had the lowest average new-car CO2 emissions in 2024? A: France had the lowest 2024 average at 94.1. The other 2024 figures were 117.1 for Germany, 117.7 for Spain, and 119.8 for Italy.

Q: Which country cut average new-car CO2 emissions the most from 2020 to 2024? A: France recorded the largest drop, at 26.9. Germany fell by 19.0, Spain by 17.7, and Italy by 12.6.

Q: What were Germany’s average new-car CO2 emissions from 2020 to 2024? A: Germany recorded 136.1 in 2020, 113.6 in 2021, 106.0 in 2022, 113.0 in 2023, and 117.1 in 2024.

Q: What were France’s average new-car CO2 emissions from 2020 to 2024? A: France recorded 121.0 in 2020, 108.5 in 2021, 102.9 in 2022, 96.7 in 2023, and 94.1 in 2024.

Q: Does this dataset include UK car CO2 emissions for 2024 or 2023? A: No. The findings include Germany, Spain, France, and Italy for 2020 through 2024, but no UK figures.

Q: Does this dataset show worldwide or global CO2 emissions from cars in 2024? A: No. The findings are limited to new-car averages in 4 countries: Germany, Spain, France, and Italy, for 2020 to 2024.