S.I. No. 339/2001 - European Communities (Consumer Information on Fuel Economy and Co2 Emissions of New Passenger Cars) Regulations, 2001

In exercise of the powers conferred on the Minister for the Environment and Local Government by Section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), which said powers are delegated to me by the Environment and Local Government (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) (No.2) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 428 of 1997 ) and for the purposes of giving effect to the provisions of Council Directive 1999/94/EC¹ relating to the availability of consumer information on fuel economy and CO₂ emissions in respect of the marketing of new passenger cars, I, Dan Wallace, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government, hereby make the following Regulations: -

Citation

1        These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Consumer Information on Fuel Economy and CO₂ Emissions of New Passenger Cars) Regulations, 2001.

Entry into Force

2        These Regulations shall come into operation on 24 August 2001.

Definitions

3        (1)     In these Regulations-

“advertisement” has the meaning assigned by the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (No. 30 of 2000);

“advertisement structure” has the meaning assigned by the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (No. 30 of 2000);

“CO₂” means carbon dioxide;

“the Directive” means Council Directive 1999/94/EC;

“combined test cycle” means the combination of the urban and extra-urban fuel consumption test cycles as determined by Directive 80/1268/EEC, as amended;

“local authority” means the corporation of a county borough or the council of a county;

“distributor” means any person displaying a new passenger car for sale or lease at a point of sale, and includes, as appropriate, a person who holds an exclusive franchise to bring into the State for sale or lease particular makes and models of new passenger cars;

“the Minister” means the Minister for the Environment and Local Government;

(2)     In these Regulations-

(a)     any reference to an article or sub-article which is not otherwise identified is a reference to an article or sub-article of these Regulations;

(b)     any reference to a Schedule which is not otherwise identified is a reference to a Schedule of these Regulations;

(c)     any reference to an Annex which is not otherwise identified is a reference to an Annex of the Directive; and

(d)     a letter, word, phrase or symbol which has been assigned a meaning by the Directive, or is used in the Directive, has that meaning where the context requires except where otherwise indicated.

Scope

4        These Regulations specify the information relating to the fuel economy and CO₂ emissions of new passenger cars offered for sale or lease in the State to be made available to consumers in order to enable consumers to make an informed choice.

Fuel Economy Label

5        (1)     A distributor shall ensure that a label, in the format and containing the information and data specified in the Schedule, is attached to, or displayed near, in a clearly visible manner, each new model at a point of sale.

(2)     Where a local authority is of the view that a label does not conform to a provision of this article the local authority shall require a distributor to amend the label accordingly or display the label in the appropriate manner.

Fuel Economy Guide

6        (1)     The Society of the Motor Industry of Ireland, as registered in the Register of Friendly Societies under the Trades Union Act, 1871, is designated as the “authorised body” for the purposes of this article.

(2)     The authorised body shall, in consultation with the manufacturers of passenger cars, produce a portable, compact guide, hereinafter referred to as “the guide”, on fuel economy and CO₂ emissions for all makes and models of new passenger car offered for sale or lease in the State.

(3)     The guide shall be available free of charge to consumers, upon request, at each point of sale and from the authorised body.

(4)     The guide shall be available from the coming into operation of these Regulations and shall be updated on at least an annual basis.

(5)     The guide shall contain as a minimum the information and data specified in Annex II.

(6)     The text in the guide conforming to the requirements of paragraphs 4, 5, 6 and 7 of Annex II shall be that specified by the Minister from time to time.

(7)     Where a local authority is of the view that the guide does not conform to the provisions of this article, the local authority shall require the authorised body to amend the guide accordingly.

(8)     Where a local authority is of the view that the guide is not being provided in accordance with the provisions of this article, the local authority shall require the distributor, or authorised body as appropriate, to provide the guide in accordance with sub-article (3).

Fuel Economy Posters

7        (1)     A distributor shall exhibit a poster, or alternatively a display, hereinafter referred to as “the poster”, in a prominent position for each make of car at a point of sale.

(2)     The poster shall list the official fuel consumption and the official specific CO₂ emissions of all models displayed or offered for sale at or through the point of sale.

(3)     The poster shall be in accordance with the format and contain the information and data specified in Annex III.

(4)     The poster shall be updated at least every six months and between updates any new model shall be added to the bottom of the list referred to in sub-article (2).

(5)     Where a local authority is of the view that a poster does not conform to a provision of this article the local authority shall require a distributor to amend the poster accordingly or display the poster in the appropriate manner.

Promotional Literature

8        (1)     A distributor shall ensure that all promotional literature, hereinafter referred to as “the literature”, contains the official fuel consumption and specific CO₂ emissions of the models to which it refers in accordance with the requirements of, including the information and data specified in, Annex IV.

(2)     Sub-article (1) shall not apply in the case where the literature refers to a make and does not refer to a particular model.

(3)     Where a local authority is of the view that the literature does not conform to the provisions of this article, the local authority shall require a distributor to amend the literature accordingly.

Promotional Material

9        (1)     Without prejudice to the requirements of article 8, a distributor shall ensure that promotional material, hereinafter referred to as “the material”, other than the literature specified in article 8, and including but not limited to information included in or provided by means of electronic displays or through any other electronic formats, and in advertisements, including advertisements displayed on advertisement structures, shall indicate the official fuel consumption and the official specific CO₂ emissions of the specific model to which it refers.

(2)     Without prejudice to sub-article (1), where a television advertisement or a radio advertisement, as appropriate, refers to an engine related performance criterion of a specific model, the television or the radio advertisement, as appropriate, shall include the official fuel consumption, at least on the combined test cycle, and the official specific CO₂ emissions, of the model or models, referred to in the advertisement and, where several variants or versions are grouped under one model, the values given for fuel consumption and for CO₂ emissions of that model shall be based on the variant or version offered for sale or lease in the State with the highest official fuel consumption and the highest official CO₂ emissions within that group.

(3)     (a)     Sub-article (1) shall not apply where the material refers only to a make and does not refer to a specific model.

(b)     Sub-article (1) shall not apply to a television or radio advertisement where the advertisement does not refer to an engine related performance criterion of a specific model.

(4)     Where a local authority is of the view that the material does not conform to a provision of this article, the local authority shall require a distributor to amend the material accordingly.

Alternative information

10      (1)     Marks, symbols or inscriptions relating to fuel consumption or CO₂ emissions which do not comply with the requirements of these Regulations shall not be displayed in a fuel economy label, guide, poster, promotional literature or promotional material.

(2)     Where a local authority is of the view that a particular mark, symbol or inscription relating to fuel consumption or CO₂ emissions does not conform to a requirement of this article, the local authority shall require a distributor to cease such display forthwith.

Metric Measurements

11      (1)     The official fuel consumption shall be expressed in litres per hundred kilometres (1/100km) and be quoted to one decimal place.

(2)     The official specific emissions of CO₂ shall be quoted to the nearest whole number of grams per kilometre (g/km).

Authorised Persons

12      (1)     These Regulations shall be enforced by a local authority within its functional area.

(2)     The local authority may authorise in writing any person, hereinafter referred to as an “authorised person”, for the purposes of the enforcement of these Regulations.

(3)     Every authorised person shall be furnished with a certificate of his or her authorisation and when exercising any power provided by or under these Regulations, the authorised persons shall, if requested by any person affected, produce the certificate to that person.

(4)     An authorised person may in respect of a point of sale:-

(a)     at all reasonable times enter and inspect the point of sale;

(b)     require from the distributor, or the person having general control and management of the point of sale, or a person employed at the point of sale, such information as the authorised person, having regard to all the circumstances, considers necessary for the purposes of these Regulations.

(5)     A person shall not obstruct an authorised person in the exercise of his or her powers under these Regulations or wilfully withhold any information which the authorised person requires.

Offences

13      (1)     For the purposes of these Regulations it shall be an offence to:-

(a)     fail to display a label provided for in article 5;

(b)     fail to produce the guide provided for in article 6(2);

(c)     fail to provide upon request a copy of the guide provided for in article 6(3);

(d)     fail to exhibit a poster provided for in article 7;

(e)     use or publish promotional literature in contravention of article 8;

(f)     use, publish or transmit promotional material in contravention of article 9;

(g)     display marks, symbols or inscriptions relating to fuel consumption or CO₂ emissions in contravention of article 10; or

(h)     fail to comply with a requirement of an authorised person or a local authority.

(2)     A person convicted of an offence under these Regulations shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding IR £1,000 prior to 31 December, 2001 and €1,269 thereafter, or to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months, or, at the discretion of the court, to both such fine and such imprisonment.

(3)     A prosecution for an offence under these Regulations may be taken by a local authority in whose area the offence is committed.

SCHEDULE

FUEL ECONOMY AND CARBON DIOXIDE (CO₂)

EMISSIONS DATA (EU DIRECTIVE 1999/94/EC)

Label Format

Dimensions

The label shall be on paper size 297 mm × 210 mm (A4).

Left Hand Margin: 32 mm.

Right Hand Margin: 28 mm.

All other dimensions as per ruler dimensions (which shall not appear on the label) outlined in the Schedule.

The outlines of Boxes A, B, C, D shall appear on the label as per ruler dimensions.

Colours

The label background shall be in white.

All label text shall be in black ink.

The company name and/or logo may be in a corporate style and colour(s).

The numerical values for the fuel consumption for the combined drive cycle in Box B and the official specific emissions of CO₂ in Box C shall be in red colour Pantone 185 or as close as practicable thereto.

All other numerical values for official fuel consumption displayed on the label shall be in black ink.

Text Format

The text “Fuel Economy and Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) Emissions Data (EU Directive 1999/94/EC)” shall appear on the label in Arial font, bold, capital letters, 14 point.

The word “Schedule” shall not appear on the label.

Box A

The letter “A” shall not appear on the label.

Where a corporate style of company name is used the font size shall be in 12 point.

Where a corporate style of company name is not used the font shall be in Arial font, bold, capital letters, 12 point.

All other text shall be in Arial font, bold, capital letters, 12 point, except the text “cc” which shall be in lower case letters.

The corporate logo, if any, shall be sized as per ruler dimensions.

Box B

The letter “B” shall not appear on the label.

Text of “Fuel Consumption”, “Drive Cycle”, “Litres/100 km” and “Combined” and the related numerical values for the combined drive cycle shall be in Arial font, bold, capital letters, 16 point.

All other text and numerical values shall be in Arial font, bold, capital letters, 12 point.

Numerical values shall be inserted opposite the appropriate fuel consumption test cycle in the column headed “1/100km”.

All official fuel consumption data to be inserted as per page ruler dimensions.

Box C

The letter “C” shall not appear on the label.

Text of “Grams of Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) Emitted Per Kilometre” shall be in Arial font, bold, 16 point.

Numerical values and text of the official CO₂ emissions “gCO₂/km” shall be in Arial font, bold, capital letters, 16 point with the exception of the letter “g” which shall be in lower case.

Numerical values shall be inserted to the left of the text of the official CO₂ emissions “gCO₂km”; the final numerical value shall be not more than 3 mm and not less than 2 mm distance from the first letter of the text of the official CO₂ emissions “gCO₂/km”.

The official CO₂ emissions data to be inserted as per page ruler dimensions.

Box D

The letter “D” shall not appear on the label.

All text shall be in Arial font, plain, upper and lower case as appropriate, 9 point.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation).

These Regulations give effect to Council Directive 1999/94/EEC relating to the availability of consumer information on fuel economy and CO₂ emissions in respect of the marketing of new passenger cars.

The regulations specify the requirements for consumer information to be displayed on new car labels and posters at points of sale. A consumer information guide is required to be produced by an authorised body (the Society of the Motor Industry of Ireland) and to be made available centrally and at all points of sale. Promotional literature and material must also include relevant consumer information and may not contain information which may confuse customers.

These Regulations come into operation on 24 August 2001.

¹ O.J. No. L12/16 of 18 January 2000