Vehicle trade: New car label should provide car buyers with better information from May

When buying a car with a new car label, consumers should in future be better informed about, among other things, the consumption and emissions of their potential new car. The Federal Ministry of Economics in Berlin announced that an amendment to the regulation on energy consumption labeling for cars has come into force. The aim of the amendment is to provide significantly improved consumer information with additional important information.

“The improved labeling of new cars brings more transparency when buying cars,” said Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) according to the announcement. In the future, the consumption and emission values ​​would have to be specified on the basis of a more realistic test measurement procedure. The reason for the amendment was a Europe-wide change in the test measurement procedure.

Implementation from May 1st

According to the Federal Ministry of Economics, dealers and manufacturers must implement the car label from May 1st of this year. The notice must be attached directly to the vehicle on display in the car dealership or its contents must be stated accordingly when purchasing over the Internet.

Color-coded CO2 classes show at a glance how many CO2 emissions a car emits compared to alternative models, according to the statement. The emission classes are now based on the absolute CO2 emissions; the weight of the vehicle no longer plays a role.

In addition, a separate label would be introduced for each type of drive, which would provide customers with significantly more relevant information, it said. For fully electric cars and plug-in hybrids, the power consumption and electric range would also be 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.