Britain's CO2 emissions from vehicles have gone down by 45 percent since 1999 when they signed Kyoto.
And this year, British car manufacturers have cut average CO2 emissions by their biggest ever yearly margin: according to the ninth annual report put out by the British Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders they cut new vehicle emissions 4 percent since last year.
At that rate the British auto industry is doing much better than the nation as a whole in carbon emissions reductions to meet Kyoto. The environment secretary told the UK Guardian that carbon emissions were down 2 percent from 2006.
Could two British companies be making the difference? Modec and Smith Electric Vehicles build EVs for the delivery market, replacing heavy gas guzzlers. They represent a larger percentage of the relatively "small pond" that makes up the British auto industry.
Both companies showed here at the Anaheim EV show at the beginning of the year.
Two supermarket chains in the UK now deliver groceries in their electric trucks. Smith Electric Vehicles delivers Sainsbury's groceries with its nine ton Edison van, and Modec supplies the very green grocery store chain Tesco.
Under the 2008 energy bill as finally passed here in the US, the electric vans that both these companies make will now be eligible for sizable tax credits here.
These credits would amount to $10,000 for both Modec's midweight vans and Smith's full range of vans. Their largest is 12 tons. Larger electric vehicles now qualify for a $15,000 EV credit, beginning right at 13 tons --or 26,000 lbs.
These two EV companies could help us reduce our "car"bon footprint too. Stay tuned.
Photo of Modec electric vans for Tesco
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