Requirement, to kick in from next April, will benefit car buyers
Christopher Tan, Straits Times 25 Sep 08;
CAR buyers wanting to pick a greener set of wheels will soon have more information to help them decide, as dealers are being asked to label the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) their cars emit.
This will be in addition to the fuel economy figures they need to have on their windscreens from April next year.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) said the CO2 and fuel economy figures are to raise consumers' awareness and 'to help them make informed choices' when buying a car.
With the labelling, consumers will be able to see for themselves how thirsty or polluting the car they are eyeing is when compared with other comparable models.
Among a myriad of tailpipe emissions, European legislators have been targeting CO2, largely because it is one of the main gases that contribute to global warming.
The European Union has ruled that all new cars should emit no more than 120g of CO2 per kilometre by 2012 - from an average of around 150g today.
The NEA is not legislating a target level, but merely requires sellers to declare the figures - a common practice in many markets, including Australia and Europe.
Singapore Environment Council executive director Howard Shaw applauded the move as 'necessary', but added that the label should perhaps also provide data of similar vehicles as well as comparative running costs of such vehicles.
'I think the label should also tell people how much it costs to run a car per kilometre,' he added, because knowing how far you can go on a litre of fuel or how much fuel it takes to cover 100km - two standard efficiency measures in the motoring industry - 'do not mean much to many people'.
The NEA has been gathering feedback from the industry on the labels.
Most authorised agents The Straits Times spoke to do not see a problem meeting the new requirement.
Motor Traders Association (MTA) president Tan Kheng Hwee said: 'We are still working with the NEA to sort out some practicality issues for the actual implementation. They have asked for feedback from MTA members and we are in the process of compiling a report for them.
'We are confident that with close cooperation, we can smoothly implement the labelling scheme.'
Authorised agents can often get the required consumption and CO2 readings from their manufacturers.
But parallel importers will have some difficulty. This is largely because they do not have access to documentation from manufacturers as they get their cars from overseas dealers, not directly from carmakers.
And if they are to comply with all the requirements of the test procedure, they would have to set aside cars for testing at their own expense. If the cars happen to be high-end models such as Porsche, Lexus or Ferrari, the exercise can be prohibitive.
Singapore Vehicle Traders Association secretary Raymond Tang said: 'This will be an issue, but we are still waiting for more details from the NEA.'
Besides parallel importers, authorised agents of brands which do not export to Europe may face some difficulty too, because NEA will require dealers to meet a European emissions standard.
Mr Kevin Kwee, executive director of Group Exklusiv, which imports Chinese Geely cars, said: 'This is something very new to us. We've informed the factory but they've not come back to us.'
Motor traders have been given a list of recognised independent testing facilities where cars can be sent to for readings to be taken if they cannot obtain the information from manufacturers.
Observers say parallel importers are likely to have to resort to this method. And that they might pass on some of the cost involved to car buyers.
