At the Geneva Motor Show, All That Glitters is Green

At the Geneva Motor Show, All That Glitters is Green







Some of these developments will make their way across the Atlantic, but the focus of Geneva is the European market, and it is progressing significantly faster than that of the United States.

Different sensibilities or different policies?

It could be easy to conclude that European sensibilities and history makes the continent’s focus on sustainable transport stronger than that in the United States. After all, Europe is more densely populated, its streets narrower, and its commutes shorter than those we’re accustomed to in the U.S., so smaller vehicles and more public transit just make sense.

Perhaps this is true. But a comparison between the energy and transportation policies of the United States and Western Europe shows that the difference in the way we drive isn’t so much about different sensibilities as it is different policies and regulations.

For starters, fuel is more than twice as expensive in Europe, thanks to higher taxes. But the cost differences don’t end there. Whereas vehicle taxes in the U.S. vary by state but depend mostly on the value or broad weight class of vehicle, governments here have imposed increasingly strict “stairstep” tax policies that make the cleanest vehicles tax-free, and the dirtiest relatively expensive compared to average U.S. registration fees.

Combined with the price of fuel, the total-cost-of-ownership difference between an efficient car and a gas-guzzler is significant in Europe, and inconsequential in the U.S. This clearly drives purchase consideration, judging by the large number of show cars that proudly display their emissions figures (grams of CO2 emitted per kilometer) in large decals on each side.

In contrast to the strong demand-side incentives for greener vehicles in Europe, the U.S. has relied mainly upon supply-side policies like CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) that penalize automakers if they don’t meet a target for a complex calculation across their annual sales fleet.

Both policy approaches have their supporters and detractors. But if we’re serious about meeting the challenge of reducing the environmental impact of personal transportation and changing consumer car-buying behaviors, Europe’s approach -- if this year’s Geneva Motor Show is any indication -- seems to be working better than ours. With oil hovering around $100 per barrel, this really is fuel for thought to rethink our policies back home in America.

The GreenOrder Transportation Team also contributed to this post.

Images courtesy of Ted Grozier.