MP Gregory Campbell tables motion about car industry claims about MPG
EAST Derry MP Gregory Campbell has called for an end to the discrepancy that exists between the miles per gallon claims that car manufacturers make about their vehicles and the actual miles per gallon that those cars will achieve.
The DUP politician has tabled a Commons motion calling for the motor industry to implement a more realistic driving assessment.
Speaking from Westminster today, Mr Campbell said:
“Constituents have raised with me the discrepancies that exist between claims of car manufacturers and the actual MPG that cars can achieve in the real world.
“Nearly 2.5 million new cars were bought last year in the UK and in brochures for the vast majority of them there was a 20%+ differential in the miles per gallon claimed and what could actually be achieved.
“This means for example if a manufacturer claims that a new vehicle was capable of 50 miles per gallon the actual performance was more likely to be under 40 miles per gallon.
“For an average mileage of 10,000 to 12,000 miles driven annually this is a massive disparity between what the manufacturer is claiming it would cost to drive those miles and what it actually does cost in the real world.
“The current MPG test used in the UK is the New European Driving Cycle, however it has been widely criticised for the unrealistic laboratory conditions in which the test takes place.
“While this was meant to end in 2017 with a new ‘Real Driving Emission’ test, there is a concern that this date may be pushed back to 2020.
“This would be an unacceptable delay for consumers.
“I am therefore calling for the motor industry in the UK to implement a realistic driving assessment so that consumers can know what to expect when they buy their car.
“With the cost of fuel a top worry for people across the UK, and even more so in Northern Ireland, it is imperative that people have accurate information to hand when they are making car purchases.”
The largest consumer organisation in the UK, “Which” magazine has met with Gregory Campbell and want to assist in ensuring that this issue is resolved satisfactorily.
The House of Commons motion submitted by Mr Campbell, and supported by MP’s from a range of Parties, states:
“That this House notes the consistent criticism that has been levied against car manufacturers for a number of years, whereby new cars are given miles per gallon (mpg) performances almost all of which are more than 20 per cent in excess of genuine real-time car usage, so that a vehicle which is, in strictly controlled tests, capable of 50 mpg is only able to achieve less than 40 mpg by those buying and using the vehicle; and calls on the motor trade industry to implement a realistic driving assessment so that the general car-buying public knows when it sees a mpg figure that it is genuine, realistic and achievable.”
