03 March 2010 - Geneva: Petrol models under 100 g/km

Both Hyundai and Nissan have announced the lunch of petrol models emitting less than 100 g/km of CO2, breaking the benchmark for petrol engines for the first time.

The Hyundai i10 blue will emit just 99 g/km when it goes into production at the end of 2010. It will use a new version of the 1.0 litre Kappa engine producing 68 bhp at 6,200 rpm and 69 lb.ft of torque.

This will be bettered by the larger Nissan Micra when the new version is launched in the Autumn. Initially available with a 1.2 litre 3 cylinder engine emitting 115 g/km Nissan confirmed that a supercharged direct injection version of this engine will also be made available soon after lunch which will be more powerful and more efficient. Thanks to the hi-tech engine and a standard start-stop system this model will be capable of emitting just 95 g/km.