Members of the Alliance Against Urban 4x4s recently visited car showrooms across the UK. We wanted to see if the dealerships are complying with UK law that requires all showrooms (and places of trade) to display the vehicle's fuel efficiency as well as the CO2 emissions. They are also required to have a comparative poster centrally located that lists all of their models for sale and ranks them according to efficiency and emissions.
What we found was surprising. Most dealers are displaying the fuel efficiency labels, but almost none have a poster.
So we've written to each of them to let them know what our 'inspectors' found, and have given them a week to comply. We will then reinspect the dealerships, and if they haven't changed, we plan to notify the trading standards authorities.
Failure to comply carries a maximum £5,000 fine, so it's not a joke.
This is just the beginning. We feel this information in the showroom is a minuscule amount of information that ethical and environmentally aware consumers are being given to help make an informed decision about their new vehicle.
