2026-04-17T02:59:20Zhttps://recercat.cat/oai/request

oai:recercat.cat:2072/4815642025-12-09T20:07:00Zcom_2072_98col_2072_378197

00925njm 22002777a 4500 dc Asensio Ruiz de Alda, Francisco Javier author Matas i Prat, Anna author Raymond Bara, José Luis author Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Economia Aplicada author 2025 This paper carries out an empirical analysis of the determinants of CO2 emissions of new cars in Spain between 2015 and 2020. Technological change is shown to result in a decrease of emissions by 9%. However, the demand shift towards larger and more powerful vehicles has offset half of these gains. Moreover, the penetration of hybrid technologies has contributed to reducing emissions by a further 8.7%. Additionally, we estimate the determinants of emissions due to car characteristics, and we find that they are sensitive to socioeconomic and geographic variables, such as income, city size or its rural/urban character. We find an emissions elasticity with respect to fuel prices of -0.37. This is shown to be due to the purchase of less emitting cars and a higher share of more technologically efficient vehicles. Finally, scrappage programs, subsidies to the purchase of electric vehicles and the establishment of low emission zones succeed in reducing emissions. However, their effects are small and depend on the design of such measures. CO2 emissions Technological change Car characteristics Hybrid technology Demand determinants Electric vehicles Policies to reduce cars' emissions between the opposing forces of technological change and demand for characteristics