KEY POINTS:
Car dealers and private individuals selling vehicles through websites will risk being fined up to $5000 if they do not display available fuel consumption information.
Regulations coming into force on April 7 will require sellers to display fuel-economy labels if the information for them is available from the Government website www.fuelsaver.govt.nz.
The stickers will use a six-star rating system similar to that used for household goods such as refrigerators.
Sellers will not be in breach of the regulations if the information is not available, but the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority says the required figures for most cars manufactured since 2000 should be on the database.
The star labels can be downloaded for free.
Sellers of motorcycles and vehicles heavier than 3.5 tonnes will not be required to display energy ratings, and labels should be removed from cars once they are sold.
Sellers will not have to display labels as part of advertisements in newspapers or magazines.
As well as indicating fuel efficiency by the number of stars shown, the labels will also indicate the average number of litres of petrol or diesel used for every 100km, and give estimates of annual fuel costs.
The Weekend Herald used registration numbers of several vehicles parked outside its offices yesterday to obtain ratings from the fuelsaver website.
A 1.8 Nissan Pulsar was given four stars for expected average fuel consumption of eight litres per 100km, and a Mazda CX-7 four-wheel-drive received three stars for its 11.4 litres per 100km rating.
An estimated annual fuel cost of $2070 was given for the Pulsar, assuming it travelled 14,000km on petrol costing $1.85c a litre, which is 7c higher than the present record price for 91-octane.
The fuel cost for the Mazda was $2950.
The highest-rated vehicles were the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic electric-petrol hybrids.
Each had 5 1/2 stars, although the annual fuel cost for the Prius was $1140 compared with the Civic's $1320.
Despite the volatility of petrol prices, the energy conservation authority says all vehicle traders will be notified before labels must be modified, and this will probably be done only about once a year.
