Mercedes fuel economy claims rubbished

MERCEDES has been criticised for advertising fuel economy figures that are not likely to be achieved in real-world driving.

A report by Transport & Environment, which campaigns for cleaner transport, found that the fuel consumption of Mercedes models exceeded official test results by an average of 54%.

The A-class and E-class used 56% more fuel than claimed in their sales brochures, and the C-class consumed 54% more than advertised.

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Audi was the second-worst offender among car marques, with an average gap of 49%. Peugeot was shown to consume 45% more fuel, Toyota 43% and Volkswagen 40%. For most the difference was greater than 40%, with the exception of Fiat, which was off by 35%.

For cars across Europe, the difference, on average, stood at 42% last year, costing drivers around £460 a year in extra fuel. The figure has risen from 28% in 2012 and stood at 14% a decade ago.

“Cars that burn 50% more fuel than advertised are deceiving consumers”

The report accuses manufacturers of exploiting loopholes in testing rules to skew fuel-efficiency figures.

Greg Archer, clean vehicles director at Transport & Environment, called for an investigation. “Cars that burn 50% more fuel than advertised are deceiving consumers and cheating environmental rules,” he said.

Mercedes said its vehicles were certified and approved according to relevant regulations.

“There can always be differences from the legally prescribed standard in the laboratory during on-road measurements for a variety of reasons, including different temperatures, vehicle loads, driving styles and road conditions,” the company added.

Gurpreet Narwan

This article first appeared in The Times

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