Air quality news: Motoring companies 'must invest' in green technology

Car manufacturers need to do all they can to minimise the environmental effects of their vehicles, according to one company.

Sue Mulcaster, a spokesperson for Kia Motors, has called on the industry to develop vehicles that are "environmentally responsible".

Ms Mulcaster urged manufacturers to invest in environmentally-friendly technology in order to help ease the problem of emissions caused by slow-moving traffic.

She said: "By investing in green technology such as Intelligent Stop and Go, where the car's engine switches off when stationary, the environmental impact of stop-start driving in heavy traffic is reduced, with fuel consumption and emissions significantly [lower]."

Her comments came as research revealed that the average British commuter will spend 91 days of their working life stuck in traffic.

The survey named the A556 in Greater Manchester as the worst stretch of road in the country in terms of congestion. It is estimated that the 50,000 commuters who use the route every day collectively waste half a million hours in traffic jams each year.

At the end of 2007, the European Commission announced plans to reduce average new car CO2 emissions to 120 grams per km by 2012.

Posted by Lauren Steadman