EU Said Japanese, Korean Carmakers To Meet Emission Targets.

The European Commission said Japanese and Korean automobile manufacturers' commitments to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from new passenger cars sold in the European Union are compatible with Europe's competition rules.

The Association of Japanese Automobile Manufacturers and the

"The commission takes a positive view of the commitments made by JAMA and KAMA to voluntarily reduce CO2 emissions," the EU's executive agency, said. "They do not, in the commission's view, restrict competition."

As of October, Japanese automakers such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. held 11.6 percent of the Western European auto market and Korean manufacturers like Hyundai Motor Co. held 3.1 percent, the commission said.

The commitments to reduce exhaust output do not impose a target on individual manufacturers, the commission said. Instead, they provide an average target for all JAMA and KAMA members and correspond to similar commitments made by European auto manufacturers last year.

At the same time, the commission said, it may consider introducing binding legislation if the target isn't met. Individual manufacturers could apply either more or less stringent levels of C02 emissions as long as the average target is met and they are free to develop new, efficient C02 technologies independently and in competition with each other.