Stricter EU regulations threaten European sports car manufacturers

News is that the EU has proposed a 120-grams-per-km emissions standard by 2012. This new regulation could adversely affect the European carmakers, edging them towards closure. Big Daddies of the business like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Aston Martin and Porsche, would find it very difficult to comply with this ruling. LeftLane cites this example: the feather-light and relatively fuel efficient Lotus Elise S emits 196 g/km, whereas the segment average is in the 200 to 500 g/km range. According to Reuters, since exotic sports car are driven very rarely, and their limited production numbers means they only account for 0.3 percent of EU total car emissions. Whatever the case looks like the sports car industry just got a heavy-duty jolt!
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