From Wednesday, anyone who wants to buy a new car will be better informed about, among other things, the vehicle’s consumption and emissions through a reformed car label. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the aim of changing energy consumption labeling for cars is to provide significantly improved consumer information that is supplemented by other important information. This should enable a purchase decision that protects the climate and protects your wallet, said Minister Robert Habeck (Greens). The amendment has already come into force and from May dealers and manufacturers will have to label cars with the new label.
Similar to household appliances, car dealerships have long had labels showing how much fuel a car – or in the case of an electric car, electricity – uses and how much CO₂ it emits. This is shown in colored bars from green to red. The notice must be attached directly to the vehicle on display in a car dealership. If the purchase takes place over the Internet, the contents of the label must be stated accordingly. What’s new: Information on energy consumption and CO₂ emissions is now based on the so-called WLTP test procedure, which is intended to provide more realistic values. The weight of the vehicle no longer plays a role.
According to the ministry, a new classification is intended to prevent particularly large and heavy cars from being placed in a better CO₂ class due to their weight than significantly lighter vehicles with the same level of emissions. Further information on energy consumption is also new – for example for four different driving modes – city center, outskirts, country road and motorway. This is intended to enable consumers to receive additional information based on their individual use. In addition, a separate label will be introduced for each type of drive. For fully electric cars and plug-in hybrids, the power consumption and electric range are also specified. The car label also provides information about the annual energy costs for a mileage of 15,000 kilometers and the current vehicle tax for the new car.