On 5 June, the Commission published a Commission Staff Working Document evaluating the ‘Car Labelling Directive’ (Directive 1999/94/EC)
Main findings
The evaluation finds that the Directive’s measures have generally empowered consumers to make more informed choices towards vehicles with lower CO2 emissions and higher fuel efficiency, with overall benefits outweighing the modest costs.
The Directive’s provisions can generally be assumed to enable a more informed consumer choice towards vehicles with lower CO2 emissions and higher fuel efficiency. Whether this is the case depends strongly on personal factors, but also on factors related to the label such as national implementation, label design, proper enforcement, synergies with other measures and consumer understanding, familiarity, and trust. Some stakeholders also suggested that the Directive may have prompted manufacturers to make some minor adjustments when it comes to reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of new cars. However, in both cases, quantification of the impacts is challenging as it is difficult to establish a clear causal relationship between the implementation of the Directive and the attainment of its objectives
Since the Directive was introduced, car-labelling schemes have been rolled out EU-wide, creating a consistent minimum standard that remains in place today. However, the Directive could become even more efficient by replacing printed labels with digital information tools and adopting a single, harmonised label across the EU.
Although the Directive is found to have at least to a certain extent achieved its initia objectives, several factors have limited its potential impact, most notably:
- Several groups are not or not well served by the Directive:
-
- buyers of zero-emission cars
- second-hand car buyers
- buyers of light commercial vehicles (vans)
- The effectiveness of the information tools depends largely on national implementation, for instance in terms of label design. The Directive might thus not be as effective as it could be in each Member State.
- The fact that implementation varies significantly across Member States decreases effectiveness because this lack of harmonisation potentially leads to higher costs for industry, reducing the Directive’s efficiency.
- Consumers increasingly rely on digital platforms for information on new cars. This decreases the impact of the Directive’s provisions, which are focussed on the physical points of sale.
Next steps
In the ‘Industrial Action Plan for the European automotive sector
’ dated 5 March 2025, the Commission announced a review of the Car Labelling Directive in 2026. This review aims to support consumers to make sustainable choices and thereby increase the deployment of zero-emission vehicles in the EU.
Background
Directive 1999/94/EC requires EU countries to provide prospective buyers and lessees of new cars with clear information on fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions. The Directive aims to help consumers choose cars which use less fuel and thereby emit less CO2, and to encourage manufacturers to reduce the fuel consumption of their new cars. As a demand-side instrument, it complements the CO2 emission targets
manufacturers must meet under Regulation (EU) 2019/631
