Despite the introduction of company car tax and other incentives for choosing low emission cars, there is no way car manufacturers will be able to hit the 2008 target for average emissions of 140g/km of CO2 for all cars sold, an expert has claimed.

An authority on carbon emissions, Professor David Banister from University College London, told an environmental audit committee in the House of Commons that such an improvement over current levels was ‘very difficult, if not impossible’.

He said SMMT figures for 2005 suggested that only 15% of the new car market reached that target.