Toyota had an ad in Belgium that included the words "Zero emissions low." While the Prius is a model with very low CO₂ emissions, they're certainly not zero and the claim has been considered misleading. The advertisement did not contain any CO₂ emission or fuel consumption data, as is obliged under Belgian law, and thus violated European labeling directive 1999/94/EC. Friends of the Earth Europe's car efficiency campaigner, Jeroen Verhoeven, filed the complaint. "Car manufacturers are using 'greenwash' advertising to confuse consumers whilst at the same time blocking EU proposals for a target of 120g CO2/km by 2012. If Toyota is serious about reaching 'zero emissions' anytime soon then why are they blocking a 2012 target?", he said in a statement sent to AutoblogGreen.

This is not the first time Toyota has been into trouble for exaggerating the "greenness" of its products. Lexus, too, has had its problems. But as the big marketing motto for automakers is being shifted from security to ecology, they all make mistakes. Could this lead to banning green advertisements for cars, like in Norway?

[Source: EUBusiness, h/t to Jeroen]

Photo by kadavy. Licensed under Creative Commons license 2.0.

Europeans don't monkey around when it comes to cigarette warning labels. Large print, simple messages, and impossible to avoid. Apparently, vehicle advertisements need to be a little more clear about the dangers the vehicle poses to the pocketbook and the environment.

Car ads that references a specific make and model, according to EU directive 1999/94/EC, which passed in December 1999, need to reveal fuel use and CO₂ emissions in way that is easy to read and prominent and "be easy to understand even on superficial contact." While some car advertisements in the EU and UK have come under fire for being misleading (see examples by Toyota and Lexus and Hummer), a researcher at a Belgian university found that almost every single car ad (99 percent) in the EU is illegal.

Examples of what car ads should look like and ways to voice your concern are available at this site, which was set up by ten environmental and greener car groups, including Greenpeace and the Alliance Against Urban 4x4s (4x4 is the British way of saying SUV).

[Source: The Economist, h/t to Jeroen V.]

There are certainly plenty of good reasons to standardize the terminology for a vehicle's CO₂ emissions in advertising. Earlier this year, more than one company has gotten into a bit of hot water over misleading ads (see examples regarding Toyota and Lexus and Hummer) and it could certainly help buyers better understand how a potential new car would spew carbon compared to others if a standard label was applied to CO₂ emissions. Europeans might soon get such a label. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association, ACEA, is discussing voluntary codes that automakers could use in advertising that requires readers/viewers to easily identify a vehicle's CO₂ emissions.

The codes are not going to be easy to develop. As ACEA spokeswoman Sigrid de Vries told Automotive News Europe (subs req'd), "It's a rather complex situation, with differences in each country according to national culture and tradition." The automakers will need to develop something, though, because the European Parliament recommended last month that automakers must "devote 20 percent of their broadcast, print and internet ads to tobacco-type warnings about the fuel consumption and carbon footprint of their cars," ANE reporter Tom Armitage writes. Just how clear these disclaimers will be is something we'll be looking forward to deciphering.

[Source: Automotive News Europe / Tom Armitage]