• Fuel consumption meters, saving motorists up to €50 a year, get MEPs’ backing

    Eco-driving technology that will save motorists €30 to €50 year today received the backing of MEPs who called for mandatory fuel consumption meters for all new cars, vans and trucks. The European Parliament’s environment committee overwhelmingly voted for the meters to be fitted and permanently visible in all new vehicles from 1 January 2019, leading to fuel efficiency gains of 2-3% per year.

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    The meters were originally omitted from the Commission’s own proposal.

    Julia Poliscanova, vehicles policy officer at Transport & Environment, said: “These fuel consumption meters are essential for eco driving and MEPs are right to require them to be permanently visible, similar to the way drivers see speed on their dashboards today.

    “While many models already have fuel consumption meters fitted, today’s vote is a boost for their eventual roll-out on all new models according to a single quality standard. They are a quick and easy way to achieve fuel-efficiency gains of 2-3% and will lead to direct savings of up to €50 per year for every driver.”

    MEPs also refused to allow natural gas vehicles to have higher air pollutant limits, instead asking the Commission to consider the issue in more detail by preparing a proper impact assessment and bringing a proposal to the Parliament and governments.

    The environment committee also called on the Commission to consider fitting gearshift indicators to all vehicle categories.

     

    Note to editor:

    [1] European Commission impact assessment on introduction of fuel consumption meters for light-duty vehicles https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52014SC0033…