Given the critical situation of air quality, the Consumer Power (EPC) group demanded labeling of emission levels on new cars to inform buyers of pollutants and the use of gasoline in each of the models offered by dealerships.
According to a study prepared by the organization at the national level, 95 percent of Mexicans believe that knowing the level of fuel efficiency and emissions would impact on their purchase decision, while eight out of 10 would be willing to pay more for a more efficient vehicle than one with lower efficiency.
Stephan Brodziak, air quality researcher for EPC, said it is vital that consumers know how much pollution and how much gasoline savings is the model they want to buy, because currently only 33 percent of drivers know this information.
For example, the population has known that expenses on gasoline over five years, in a driving close to 75,000 kilometers in a cheaper and less emitting car represents an expense in Magna gasoline of 135,700 pesos, while in a higher priced, better fuel performance car, the figure drops to 58,157 pesos, which is 2.3 times less.
Regarding toxic emissions, a cleaner engine emits into the atmosphere 150 grams of CO2 (carbon dioxide per kilometer), while the most polluting engines put out 306 into the air.
The same applies to nitrogen oxides (NOx), the precursors of ozone, as per year more cars with better technology release 0.03 kg of NOx, and those with less accumulated 1.8 kg of this gas, 98.4 percent.
In Mexico there is no rule requiring dealers to appropriately display information on these factors, as has been adopted in the United States, Canada, Chile, Brazil, Japan and the European Union.
“Showing that a well-equipped car is highly pollutive and with a low fuel efficiency goes against marketing and advertising, could discourage a large number of potential buyers, those would be moving to lighter options,” he said.
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Consumidores exigen etiquetado de rendimiento y emisiones contaminantes en autos nuevos y esto propone @elpoderdelc pic.twitter.com/X4JotLFZHM
— Autocosmos México (@Autocosmos) March 31, 2016