More transparency with new energy consumption labelling for passenger cars
Clearer overview of costs and a stronger steering effect. In addition to general vehicle data and energy consumption, the new energy consumption label for passenger cars also provides information on energy costs for an annual mileage of 15,000 kilometres
Berlin, Germany, 23 February 2024. The long-awaited amendment to the German Ordinance on Energy Consumption Labelling for Passenger Cars (Pkw-Energieverbrauchskennzeichnungsverordnung, or Pkw-EnVKV) implements European requirements for the labelling of vehicles when purchasing a car. The Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action is responsible for the corresponding national implementation of consumer information on energy efficiency and climate protection in Germany.
The amendment became necessary under EU law in order to implement the transition of test procedures to the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP). This laboratory measurement method reflects real driving conditions much better than previous methods, for example, by testing at higher speeds and over longer distances. Until now, however, these WLTP values for fuel consumption and emissions of pollutants have not been shown on the labelling for passenger cars, which is now changing due to the new ordinance in Germany. By labelling the values in the WLTP standard, the expected consumption as well as the fuel costs can be estimated much more accurately before consumers purchase the vehicle.
In addition, under the revised ordinance in Germany, there are now five versions of the label for vehicles with liquid fuels such as diesel and petrol, as well as for natural gas, plug-in hybrid, electric and fuel cell vehicles, instead of a single label for all drive types. This should improve the content of the labelling for the different vehicle types, especially those with electric drives. The ordinance also requires dealers to display the car label clearly on all new passenger cars available for sale and on display to the customer. This should ensure that consumers have easy access to the information on energy efficiency and climate protection. It is now also possible to use the labelling for used cars on a voluntary basis in a slightly modified form under the amendment.
‘The energy-efficiency labelling for passenger cars helps prospective buyers better estimate the expected fuel consumption costs of new cars and in turn supports their purchasing decision in favour of vehicle models with lower energy and carbon emissions. There is great pressure in the transport sector, in particular, to take action for more climate protection, and car buyers are the most powerful players here,’ explains Kristina Haverkamp, Managing Director at dena.
Another notable novelty of the newly introduced labelling system is that it not only shows the vehicle tax and fuel or electricity consumption, but it also separately lists the possible carbon costs over the next ten years.
Please visit the platform https://alternativ-mobil.info/, an information platform operated by dena on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, for further information about the new labelling system for passenger cars. Dealers can use the online tool called ‘Pkw Label erstellen’ (‘Create car label’), for example, to create energy consumption labels for passenger cars that are compliant with the ordinance free of charge. And consumers can find out more about energy efficiency, climate protection and car-based mobility with the help of numerous articles, tools and market overviews.
About Deutsche Energie-Agentur (dena) – the German Energy Agency
The German Energy Agency (dena) is a centre of excellence for the applied energy transition and climate protection. Dena studies the challenges of building a climate-neutral society and supports the German government in achieving its energy and climate policy objectives. Since its founding in 2000, dena has worked to develop and implement solutions and bring together national and international partners from politics, industry, the scientific community and all parts of society. Dena is a project enterprise and a public company owned by the German federal government. dena’s shareholders are the Federal Republic of Germany and dena itself.
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Volker Kamm
Team Leader, Communications T: +49 30 66 777-622 volker.kamm(at)dena.de