SLIDE 1 Roll-out, aw areness and impact of the colour-coded fuel economy label,
Jonathan Murray Deputy Director
SLIDE 2 Voluntary car labelling scheme
Voluntary automotive industry
initiative – brokered by LowCVP Scheme launched in July 2005 – ahead of EU scheme
− Fully operational by September 2005
Bands linked to UK Vehicle Excise Duty CO2 categories Consistent with European Energy Efficiency labels (e.g., fridges) Revised label incorporating G band introduced May 2006
SLIDE 3 Three quarters of car dealerships are
- perating the voluntary scheme
Survey conducted with support of RMIF, SMMT and DfT,
− Undertaken by ESA − Independently verified results
400 car showrooms were visited in all regions of the UK for all brands
− In proportion to share of UK registrations and number of dealerships
74% of dealerships surveyed were displaying the label
− Similar to level in October 2005. − Conducted during a peak period for new car sales
55% of all cars surveyed were labelled
SLIDE 4 Performance cars are the most w idely labelled - no evidence in bias
Percentage of cars which were correctly labelled by car type
40% 45% 50% 55% 60% 65% 70% Series 1 50% 55% 56% 63% 55% Small Cars Medium Cars Large Cars Performance Cars All Cars
SLIDE 5 There are w ide regional variations w ith the West Midlands and Northern Ireland performing best
Percentage of cars which were correctly labelled by region
20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Series 1 75% 74% 65% 59% 56% 55% 54% 50% 49% 48% 47% 47% 55% West Midlands Northern Ireland East England North East Yorkshir & Humber East Midlands South East South West North West Scotland London Wales UK
SLIDE 6 Prestige brands are most w idely labelled
Percentage of cars which were corretly labelled by brand type
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% Series 1 57% 60% 70% 29% 55% Life Style Mass Market Prestige Value All
SLIDE 7 Performance betw een brands is highly variable w ith the best performing brands labelling more than 75% of cars
2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Number of Brands
0-24% 25-49% 50-74% 75-100%
% cars displaying correct label
Number of brands displaying the correct label
Audi BMW Lexus Mini Mercedes-Benz Porsche Volvo
SLIDE 8 Mystery shopper survey examined how the label is being used by dealerships
Conducted a mystery shopping survey of 400 dealerships. Aim to assess how the label was being used in the dealerships. Survey measured:
− Communicating the benefits of high fuel economy − Extent to which the label was utilised when talking to customers − Level of sales staff knowledge
Staff knowledge was variable but generally limited
SLIDE 9 Sales staff communicated financial savings
- f fuel economy most often
Communicating the benefits of fuel economy to the customer
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Financial savings Economy label Climate change Link between fuel consumption and climate change
Number of dealerships
25% 14% 35% 43%
SLIDE 10 Majority of sales staff utilised the label to a limited extent but 18% used it extensively
Employing the environmental label in the customer conversation
Unprompted and used extensively, 5% Had to be prompted and then used extensively, 13%
Unprompted use in a limited manner, 12% Had to be prompted
matter and then used in a limited way, 42% Referred to the label but without elaberating, 7% No knowledge of the label or subject matter, 22%
SLIDE 11 Dealership performance
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 Number of Dealerships 0% - 10% 11% - 20% 21% - 30% 31% - 40% 41% - 50% 51% - 60% 61% - 70% 71% - 80% 81% - 90% 91% - 100% Dealership overall score
Distribution of performance of dealerships surveyed
Average Score 44%
SLIDE 12
Green Dealer Champions
Star Performers Evans Halshaw (Vauxhall), Edinburgh Porsche Centres, Colchester & Kendal Alan Day Honda, Portsmouth Cotswold Hereford Mini, Hereford Dixon Hull West (Vauxhall), East Yorkshire Nick Whale (BMW), Warwick Solent Mazda, Portsmouth Holden (Renault), Norwich
Edinburgh Kendal Colchester Portsmouth
SLIDE 13
Impact on car buyers
Web based research utilising GfK NOP’s e-panel. In total 1,928 respondents were interviewed
− 917 (48%) who had purchased a new car since July 2005 − 1,011 (52%) who intend to buy a new car within the next twelve months.
92% of respondents were private motorists and 8% were company car drivers. Questionnaire evaluated the following areas:
− Awareness of the fuel economy label − Importance of the fuel economy label in the purchasing decision − Factors important when purchasing a new car − Sources of information − Constituents of the environmentally friendly car
SLIDE 14 Spontaneous aw areness - 29% of all respondents w ere aw are of the environmental label
Percentage of respondents who recall seeing the label
36% 28% 22% 36% 29%
0% 1 0% 2 0% 3 0% 4 0%
Company Car Drivers Private Motorists Intenders Owners Total
Spontaneous
SLIDE 15 Prompted aw areness - 40% of respondents recalled label w hen show n it
Percentage of respondents who recall seeing the label
44% 40% 38% 42% 40% 36% 28% 22% 36% 29%
0% 1 0% 2 0% 3 0% 4 0% 5 0%
Company Car Drivers Private Motorists Intenders Owners Total
Spontaneous Prompted
SLIDE 16
64% of car buyers say the information on the environmental label is important
Two thirds of respondents said it was important in helping them to choose the make and model of their car.
− 48% said it was fairly important and 16% very important. − However, only 46% knew the band within which their car fell.
83% of respondents said that comparative fuel economy information would be important.
− 34% saying this is very important and a further 49% fairly important. Fairly Important 48% Not very Important 25% Not at all Important 11% Very Important 16%
SLIDE 17
Where do w e go from here?
The LowCVP is continuing to work with the car industry to improve the availability of the environmental label. Objective
− To ensure car-buyers have the information in car showrooms to be able to take fuel economy into account when buying a new car.
Targets
− All brands to achieve 75% or above roll out of the car fuel economy label. − To raise the level of knowledge and understanding by car dealer staff.
Next steps
− LowCVP can conduct surveys to measure progress. − Stakeholders need to work together to raise awareness of label amongst car-buyers. − Further research is needed to understand attitude-action gap. − Vehicle manufacturers and dealerships not achieving 75% level of performance need to take action.
