It’s Gangnam style green for 2014: Kia and Hyundai top ‘greenest’ list

The long reign of vaunted carmaker Honda as the world’s greenest automaker in the rankings of US-based Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has ended, as Hyundai-Kia has emerged on top this year, relegating the carmaker from Tokyo to second place for the first time since it began to top the list in 2000, the same year UCS started the rankings (and which has come out six times hence).

UCS bases its ranking on the top-selling automakers’ overall performance of their fleet of new vehicles on both global warming and smog-forming emissions factors.

The UCS’ latest auto rankings report, released late this May but emailed to Inquirer Motoring June 10, indicated that Hyundai-Kia came in at first place due to “a concerted effort to improve the green performance of its fleet by turbocharging and downsizing engines in a number of its (year 2013) models, while also introducing hybrid-electric versions of two of its top-selling vehicles, the Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima.”

And though the top and second spots came out with a clear single winner, the No. 3 spot was a free-for-all. According to the UCS report, “It was a three-way tie for third place, with Toyota, Nissan and Volkswagen too close to call.”

The UCS report went on to reveal that US automakers didn’t fare too good in the rankings. “While all the international automakers in the ranking scored better than the national average, the Detroit Three—Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler—continue to bring up the rear, as they have in every automaker ranking,” it said.

UCS, however, did mention efforts put in by some US automakers to improve their green scores. In particular, the report mentioned Ford, which led the Detroit Three in “achieving the greatest percent reduction in smog-forming emissions of any manufacturer evaluated. The company also enjoyed strong improvements in global warming emissions due to its increased use of hybrids and its focus on smaller, turbocharged engines in vehicles ranging from the Ford Focus sedan to its best-selling large pickup, the F-150, demonstrating that fuel-economy gains are possible across an automaker’s entire fleet.”

Reduced average emissions

The report also noted that “for the first time ever, all eight major automakers reduced their average global warming emissions compared to their respective 1998 fleet average, the model year examined in [UCS’] first report [in 2000]. The average new vehicle is emitting around 20 percent less global warming pollution and nearly 87 percent less smog-forming tailpipe emissions.”

UCS added that these improvements are driven by consumer demand, new technologies, and strong fuel economy and pollution standards, which require automakers to produce cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles. The phase-in of future regulations—including the Tier 3 standards—will ensure these improvements continue.

The UCS report comes in at a weighty period in the rapidly evolving history of the automobile. In 2010, WardsAuto research revealed that the global population of government-registered vehicles had breached the 1-billion mark, up from 980 million a year before that. The environmental impact of all these hundreds of millions of fossil fuel-burning internal combustion engines have been the subject of many debates in scientific and industry circles.

Reacting to the UCS report, Ma. Fe Perez Agudo, president and CEO of Hyundai Asia Resources Inc., told Inquirer Motoring: “This new accomplishment only reaffirms and reminds our customers of Hyundai’s core philosophy of caring for man and the environment. Hyundai’s passion to come up with even edgier eco-friendly and fuel-efficient auto technology is certainly paying off.”

She added: “We assure the public that Hyundai is addressing the ever-increasing public clamor for automakers to reduce their carbon footprint. We are not just investing in ‘smarter’ technology, we are investing in public health and well-being and environmental sustainability.”

Kia Motors, through exclusive Philippine distributor Columbian Autocar Corp., sent this statement to Inquirer Motoring: “We at Kia Motors are thrilled to have received the title of  ‘Greenest Automaker’, in conjunction with Hyundai Motor, from UCS. This latest recognition is a testament to our ongoing efforts aimed at enhancing our product line-up’s average fuel economy while reducing harmful emissions. It also comes on the heels of our debut last year on Interbrand’s list of 50 Best Global Green Brands in 37th place.

It said: “Kia Motors is concentrating our efforts on developing green technologies and vehicles to minimize environmental impact. To address climate change, we are strengthening R&D competencies and making steadfast investments to attain the goal of zero emissions. As such, in addition to our current hybrid models, we have just this month entered mass production of our first full-electric vehicle for export markets—the Soul EV—which will further diversify our green lineup and help shape the future of automotive technology.”

Passion for green cars

Honda Cars Philippines Inc. president and general manager Toshio Kuwahara told Inquirer Motoring during the June 24 launch of the new Jazz that “Honda has not lost its passion to bring in green cars to the public.”

He added: “It was also Honda founder Soichiro Honda’s commitment that Honda would try its best to bring the blue skies for the next generation. Some may say Honda is already number two (in terms of green advocacies), some say it’s still number one, but what is important is whatever rank (we are placed), we bring in the most eco-friendly products not only in cars but motorcycle business, generator products, water pumps and marine engines.”

Kuwahara said that Honda could not afford to be lax as it still is the world’s largest engine manufacturer—combining all automobiles, motorcycles and power products (generators, water pumps and marine engines, as well as the aviation jet engines the company is developing in the United States.

The UCS began as a collaboration between students and faculty members at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1969, and is now an alliance of more than 400,000 citizens and scientists working on some of the world’s most complex and daunting problems: stemming the tide of global warming, finding sustainable ways to feed, power and transport human beings, and reducing the threat of catastrophic war.