New car fuel labels proposed
OTTAWA — The federal government is hoping to clean up fuel economy labels on new vehicles with better calculations for real-world driving and a new environmental rating system.
Natural Resources Canada is proposing the new voluntary labels, using federal powers under the federal Energy Efficiency Act, for passenger vehicles starting in the 2016 model year.
The department said in its proposal, introduced on its website a few months ago, that it believes the existing labels don’t provide enough information allowing consumers to compare energy, environmental and financial costs of different vehicles and emerging technologies.
The labelling plan follows the lead of the Obama administration, which introduced new stickers on 2013 model vehicles in dealerships, describing it as the “most dramatic overhaul” in the history of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s labelling program, as part of efforts to raise awareness about environmental impacts and help consumers save money at the gas pumps.
The changes are supported by Canadian automobile manufacturers and would respond to some criticism from consumers who believed the old labels overestimated fuel economy ratings in new cars.
The EPA improved its own calculations in 2008 by adding new criteria and Natural Resources Canada is proposing to include these factors — sudden acceleration or braking, the use of air conditioning, or driving in cold winter conditions — into its fuel economy ratings.
“The old labels were criticized and this is a way of improving those labels to try to reflect what goes on with the real world,” said Mark Nantais, president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association.
“Is it going to be exact? No, it never will be. Will it be closer to what does happen in the real world? Most likely, so it is an improvement.”
Natural Resources Canada is also proposing to match the EPA’s new smog and greenhouse gas ratings on labels.
Nantais said his association supports the changes and had hoped Canada would move faster to match the EPA labels.
“Unfortunately, we missed the model year 2015, but we’ve been waiting on the government to make a decision on this,” Nantais said.
“The process of deciding what the labels are going to look like has lasted longer than we had hoped.”
Bob Oliver, CEO of Pollution Probe, a Toronto-based environmental group, said it was fair for Natural Resources Canada to spend time to review the EPA’s work and propose labels relevant for Canadians.