There is no deriding the green issue in the minds of most of the UK’s motorists and now there is no avoiding it for car manufacturers and advertisers either.
Tight regulation will now mean that more information must be included in car advertisements and in particular, green information must be incorporated to help buyers make more informed decisions. Going forward, all advertisements in magazines and on billboards must include real and readable facts about a car’s fuel economy and its environmental impact.
The news comes as the Department of Transport admits that it had wrongly interpreted an EU directive on car advertising. The directive states that fuel economy and carbon dioxide (CO2) emission levels must be prominently included in all promotional literature. The European Commission wants a simple and single design for car labeling, while the King Review has called for more regulation on car advertising.
As a result, the Department of Transport has implemented new rules stating that all promotional materials including print adverts and posters must include CO2 emission levels.
The hope is that this will make drivers more eco-conscious when making their decisions about which vehicle to buy. Indeed recent market trends suggest that the car manufacturers are noticing the shift towards green cars with advertising spending on the most fuel efficient vehicles jumping from 20 per cent to 40 per cent.
Do CO2 emission levels affect your vehicle choice? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
