Research by the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders has revealed a shift in the new car market in the UK, with hundreds of thousands of buyers moving into cars with lower CO2 emissions. Analysis of sales by road tax bands based on tailpipe CO2 shows 60.7% of new cars sold last year fell within the bands A-D (under 165 g/km) compared with just 43.1% in 2000.

Only 298 band A cars (<100 g/km) were sold last year, a reflection their extremely limited availability, however Band B (101-120 g/km), where the new MINI Cooper D fits in, now have a 4.7% share compared to merely 0.1% in 2000. Band C, where the MINI One at 128 g/km, MINI Cooper at 129 g/km and MINI Cooper S at 149 g/km all now belong, commanded the largest single slice of the market at 31.9%, when in 2000 their share was only 19.2%.

While there is a clear shift down the scale happening here, it’s still the case that the top ‘G’ band (over 226 g/km) holds a 7.5% market share, nearly 3% more than band B. It’s also hard to say whether shift is lead by the consumer, or simply the fact that car manufacturers are selling cleaner versions of the same size (or bigger) cars, so figures are naturally falling as that’s what the public are able to buy.

If it is consumer driven, maybe the Cooper D can work it’s magic and bring the figures further down the scale? MINI have certainly made efforts to clean up their act, the new BMW/PSA engines were already far more efficient and clean than the range they replaced, but with the recently announced introduction of automatic stop-start and brake energy regeneration technologies the figures have been improved even more.

These figures were revealed as a preview of SMMT’s annual new car CO2 report, whose launch is planned for early July.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders Limited represents the automotive industry at a national, European and global level across a range of issues from environment, legislation, safety and security, through to education and the economy. SMMT publishes statements, policy documents, consultations and a wide array of background briefings to members, the press and public.