“Most” car dealerships are failing to display fuel economy and carbon emissions data according to the Alliance Against Urban 4x4s have found.
The campaign, founded by Blake Ludwig and Green party candidate for Mayor of London 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 found not displaying 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.
MS 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 a week from today (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.
