KEY POINTS:
Compulsory labels on cars stating their fuel consumption have been touted by the Government as its next step to control exhaust-pipe pollution.
A discussion document published yesterday invites submissions on the idea of requiring the labels to be placed on vehicles sold by dealers.
Officials are also looking at how to cover internet vehicle sales.
Many details will be finalised only after public submissions are heard, but the discussion document suggests the labels could be attached to the windscreen "or somewhere else" on the vehicle.
Another possibility is making legal changes so the information can be put on the cards in vehicle windows at sales yards.
The labels could display annual fuel costs, litres used per 100km, or a star rating comparison. The system could be operating by the middle of next year.
Energy Ministry David Parker said people would be able to choose more-fuel-efficient cars, saving them money and reducing exhaust emissions that harmed human health.
"Encouraging people to buy vehicles that use less fuel will also help us reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate changes."
The Government's Land Transport NZ agency has a website giving fuel-efficiency information on cars up to six years old.
The labels would also cover vehicles only up to that age, as the preferred option in the discussion document, produced by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, relates to vehicles for which information is available from the fuelsaver website.
But the plan is to "eventually" cover all cars being sold.
Similar schemes operate in Australia, Europe and California.
Visible-smoke tests are now part of warrant or certificate of fitness checks.
Government agencies are also considering restricting the age of secondhand imports and developing a fuel-economy standard for new and secondhand vehicles to reduce emissions and improve fuel economy.
The Automobile Association and the Independent Motor Vehicle Dealers Association welcomed yesterday's discussion paper.
The AA's general manager of motoring affairs, Mike Noon, said feedback from its members showed fuel efficiency was becoming a major factor in vehicle choices.
Dealers association chief executive David Vinsen supported the label plan, but said it did not go far enough.
More than 750,000 vehicles were more than 15 years old, and the the Government should take "serious steps" to address the issue.
He suggested adding fuel-efficiency details to registration labels so it would stay with the vehicle after its sale.
