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Table 9 Performance and score of car labeling

From: European road transport policy assessment: a case study for Germany

Performance

Score

Refs.

Target achievement

 (1–4)

SUVs remain more attractive to customers—38% of newly registered cars in 2019 in the EU

[35]

 

Customers´ awareness of fuel economy and CO2 emissions has increased steadily to 75% in member states since the directive was implemented

[24]

 

Success of mandatory informative policies depends on the selection criteria of customers. The "Trends of car purchase 2021" report describes the main criteria, as shown in Fig. 3

[4, 49]

 

The eco-friendly qualities play a secondary role for consumers, and other attributes such as price, performance and safety come to the fore

[4, 26]

 

The evaluation shows no strong evidence of the supply of more efficient vehicles by manufacturers

[24]

 

Experiments show that fuel economy and operating costs were better understood and influenced subjects' behavior when environmental friendliness was coupled with fuel economy

[26]

 

No empirical evidence of a strong effect on the supply of more efficient vehicles by manufacturers to receive higher ratings

[14]

Cost-efficiency

 Monitoring and enforcement in the region of €10,000–100,000

[24]

 Collection of information is a significant cost driver in some countries (the Netherlands and France) 70,000 €–90,000 € for the industry

[24]

 Maintenance costs for (voluntary) online databases are in the range of 140,000 € to 240,000 € (Germany and UK)

[24]

 Printing of guides accounts for a significant share of €30,000–60,000

[24]

 Printing the labels, estimated at between €0.5 and €1 million for EU28

[24]

 Benefits from car labeling are hard to link to quantifiable data

 

Practical feasibility

 The difference in the application of car stickers and promotional materials between member states is creating confusion for consumers

[9]

 Using labels such as colored energy labels and adding important information to raise awareness (e.g., operating costs)

[24]

 Attitude-action gap: In most countries and for most types of products and services, consumers self-report that they want to make environmentally conscious purchases, but only in a minority of cases are these intentions translated into action

[14, 79]

 Change in social norms: As environmentally friendly social values become more common, social normative nudges are likely to become more effective

[14]