Germany recently passed a law requiring car manufacturers to provide more detailed information on the environmental impact of their cars, whether they are electric or not. By specifying more about consumption, pollutant emissions, and total costs, consumers will be better informed.
Details of the law
The official website of the German state, Alternativ Mobil, dedicated to automotive energy transition, announced improvements on the product sheets of new cars.
- The figures for consumption, CO2 emissions, and range are now based on the WLTP cycle and are no longer linked to the weight of the vehicle, unlike the old NEDC cycle.
- For plug-in hybrid cars, manufacturers must indicate consumption and CO2 emissions once the battery is discharged.
- A section dedicated to costs is added, with an estimate based on an annual mileage of 15,000 km. It includes energy costs (fuel, gas, hydrogen or electricity) as well as the amount of CO2 tax, according to three scenarios of evolution over the next ten years.
Display and impacts
These product sheets will now be displayed more clearly on brand websites and in dealerships. They particularly favor electric cars, given their zero CO2 emissions at the tailpipe, reduced energy costs, and absence of CO2 tax.
This initiative could boost the German electric market, which suffered after the sudden end of the ecological bonus at the end of 2023.
International comparison
This new product sheet format is close to its American equivalent, established by the EPA, which emphasizes car usage costs even more. It also surpasses what is currently in force in France, where product sheets are limited to vehicle identification, WLTP consumption, and energy labeling (ranking CO2 emissions from A to G).
Although the arrival of this product sheet in France is not confirmed, it is always desirable to provide as much information as possible to consumers. Hopefully, an equivalent will soon be available in our dealerships.