Most car dealerships are breaking the law by failing to display fuel economy and carbon emissions data, spot “citizen’s inspections” by the Alliance Against Urban 4x4s have found.
The campaign, founded by Blake Ludwig and Green Mayor candidate Siân Berry, has given the offending showrooms a week to comply with the law or face a Trading Standards inspection and a £5000 fine.
Of 23 dealerships visited by the campaigners, only 3 were fully compliant with regulations that require fuel economy and carbon emissions data to be displayed on every new car and on a comparison poster in a prominent place. All three were in London, but London also boasts the only 3 showrooms that failed to display any emissions data at all.
The fully compliant dealerships were BMW and Mini franchises in East Finchley and the Skoda Le Car Centre in Ballards Lane, also in Finchley. The three displaying not clearly displaying any of the legally-required information were Rolls Royce, Bentley and Land Rover showrooms in Berkeley Square, Mayfair.
Alliance Against Urban 4x4s co-founder Blake Ludwig, who carried out many of the inspections, said:
“People are increasingly turning their backs on gas-guzzlers and choosing more efficient cars. But they don’t have that choice if they aren’t given the information.
“Most of the dealerships we visited made some effort to display fuel economy data, but many vehicles were missed out, and almost all dealers failed to display the poster that allows customers to compare cars. They are in breach of the law, but we’re giving them fair warning and we’ll go back to inspect them again. If they still aren’t playing by the rules, we will call in the authorities and they could face a £5000 fine.
“Three dealerships have ignored the law altogether, and it’s no surprise that it’s three of the companies that have most to lose by letting their customers think before they buy: Rolls Royce, Bentley and Land Rover. If you’re going to sell highly polluting vehicles, the least you can do is be honest about it. They’ll be top of our list for re-inspection.”
Siân Berry, Green Mayor of London candidate and also a founder of the campaign, added:
“We could be just days away from the announcement by the current Mayor that we’ve been successful in our campaign to get a variable congestion charge, with discounts for drivers of more efficient cars and a higher rate for gas-guzzlers. So it is especially important in London that people have the chance to see exactly what they’re buying.
“Getting the Chelsea Tractors off city streets is vital to the health of the capital and the planet. Our variable congestion charge is a big step, but there’s more we can do.
“As Mayor, I’ll take adverts for the most polluting cars off the Tube and buses, and sell the space to local businesses instead. And at national level, Greens are working to make easy-to-read fuel economy labels, like the ones in the showrooms, mandatory on all car adverts.”
The Alliance Against Urban 4x4s is writing to all the offending dealerships, informing them of the regulations and advising them on the steps they need to take to become compliant. The Alliance’s “citizen inspectors” will begin re-inspecting from Friday 8th February, paying surprise visits to dealerships across the country. Dealerships failing re-inspection will be reported to Trading Standards and could face a fine of up to £5000.