The deal, part of wider EU efforts to tackle global warming, was reached during talks between representatives of the 27 EU nations, the European parliament and the European Commission, following months of detailed and sometimes heated negotiations.

"It isn't the commission's initial proposal, but there is some compensation thanks to a (new) long-term objective" on cutting emissions and "with very strong penalties" for non-compliance, one of the deal's negotiators told AFP.

The agreement in principle must now be formally ratified by member states and the European parliament.

Green groups swiftly criticised the deal, saying it had been watered-down too far to have any great effect.

"The EU has just agreed an empty deal to reduce car emissions, giving in to industry pressure to delay and weaken proposed targets," Greenpeace said in a statement.

Under the agreement, automakers will have to reduce CO2 emissions from new cars to 130 grams per kilometre over the period 2012-2015.

That part of the deal is a slower greening of the industry than was foreseen in the original plans, which saw the reductions fully introduced in 2012 rather than phased in.

Those plans had raised objections in several member states with a major automobile sector, including Germany and Italy.

Under the compromise agreement, 65 percent of new cars will have to comply with the emissions in 2012, 75 percent in 2013, 80 percent in 2014 and finally 100 percent in 2015.

To pacify the nations which had sought steeper cuts, a new objective of just 95 grams per kilometre was fixed for 2020.

The current CO2 emissions figure for new cars is around 156 grams.

Penalties will be imposed on a sliding scale for higher emitting cars.

Each vehicle breaching its target by more than 3 grams will cost the automaker 95 euros.

Lesser transgressions will be charged between five and 25 euros.

Within the overall 130 grams target, the goals for automakers differ, in part according to their starting points, with Germany's larger gas guzzlers given higher emissions targets.

Under the plans, Italy's Fiat will have to bring its emissions down to 122 grams, French makers Renault and Peugeot-Citroen at between 126-127 grams and Germany's VW 132 grams.

Niche constructors, such as Jaguar, Maserati and Ferrari are given more leeway.

Greenpeace EU transport policy campaigner, Franziska Achterberg, was unimpressed.

"The car industry has been driving negotiations all along and EU politicians have been happy to sit in the passenger seat making comments about the scenery," she said in a statement.

The environmental group spoke of "a host of loopholes and weak penalties for non-compliance mean that carmakers are unlikely to hit the 130g CO2/km target even after 2015."

The Green group in the European parliament was similarly unimpressed, calling the deal the "first casualty of climate package scale-back."

"The agreement reached in these trialogue negotiations will result in legislation that falls far short of what is necessary to deliver on the EU's climate goals and, in effect, rewards car makers for failing to deliver on targets they committed to 10 years ago," complained Green MEP Rebecca Harms, vice-chair of the parliament's climate committee.

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