The King Review of low-carbon cars was launched in 2007 by the British Government to examine the vehicle and fuel technologies which could help to decarbonise road transport over the next 25 years.

The Review was led by Professor Julia King

Julia King

Julia King CBE FREng is the Vice-Chancellor of Aston University.King graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in natural sciences. Her PhD degree, also from Cambridge, was in materials...

 CBE

CBE

CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...

 FREng, Vice-Chancellor of Aston University

Aston University

Aston University is a "plate glass" campus university situated at Gosta Green, in the city centre of Birmingham, England.Established in 1895 as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School, Aston was granted its Royal Charter as Aston University on 22 April 1966...

 and former Director of Advanced Engineering at Rolls-Royce plc

Rolls-Royce plc

Rolls-Royce Group plc is a global power systems company headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines , and also has major businesses in the marine propulsion and energy sectors. Through its defence-related activities...

.

The interim analytical report was published in October 2007, and focused on the potential for the reduction of emissions from road transport. It concluded:

• Urgent progress is needed from road transport to help meet emission cuts for the developed world of 60-80 percent by 2050 outlined in the Stern Review
  Stern Review
  The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change is a 700-page report released for the British government on 30 October 2006 by economist Nicholas Stern, chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and also chair of the Centre...
  
  .
• At low cost and by 2030, per-kilometre emissions from road transport could be reduced by 50 percent.
• Electric or hydrogen-powered vehicles have the potential to make near complete decarbonisation of road transport a realistic long-term objective.
• Biofuels have a role in the future UK fuel market, though demand must not be allowed to grow too quickly without robust environmental safeguards in place.

The final stage of the Review was published in March 2008, and gave recommendations on how the Government can play a role in decarbonising transport.