Roughly half of all UK car buyers remain unaware of the ‘green’ colour-coded label scheme that reveals how eco friendly cars are, new research has revealed.
According to a study conducted by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) some car dealers are even failing to display the labels, with around 9 per cent having no knowledge of what information the label provides.
The voluntary initiative was introduced exactly two years ago with car labels indicating carbon dioxide (CO2) emission levels.
However the research revealed that 44 per cent of consumers were still unaware of the scheme, with overall awareness improving by only 2 per cent from last year’s figures.
Of the 400 dealers surveyed, 86 per cent displayed the labels, marking an improvement on last year’s figure of 74 per cent, while a total of 65 per cent of showroom cars were clearly labelled compared with 55 per cent in 2006.
A total of 61 per cent of dealers achieved the target of 75 per cent of showroom cars displaying the label .
Graham Smith, head of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), commented: "This improved performance is positive, but we're not where we should be yet."
"We will continue to encourage all dealers to include this key information in their showrooms and be crystal clear about explaining to our customers the benefits and relationship between lower carbon and lower-cost motoring," he added.
Director for LowCVP, Greg Archer, said: "This improvement in dealer training and knowledge is encouraging, but clearly more work needs to be done. We will continue to urge the SMMT and its members to make improvements in the year ahead."
