Buying a car could soon be like buying a new fridge or washing machine – as part of a radical plan to phase out petrol and diesel engines and four-wheel drive.
The New South Wales Labor Government has launched a new Vehicle Emissions Star Rating website where motorists can compare the CO2 emissions of 16,000 vehicles – both old and new.
All-electric vehicles get the maximum six-star rating, but a late-model Ford Ranger, Australia’s best-selling car in 2023, receives a dismal 1.5 stars for a two-cab diesel engine that emits more than 200 grams of carbon per kilometre. kilometer.
An older Toyota HiLux petrol from 2008 only gets half a star for belching 311 grams of CO2 per litre. kilometer.
A 2016 Toyota LandCruiser 70 series diesel also gets half a star for emitting 281 grams per kilometer.
A new Ford F-150 gasoline American pick-up truck does the same to emit 290 grams of CO2 per kilometer.
Buying a car could soon be like buying a new fridge or washing machine – as part of a radical plan to phase out diesel engines and four-wheel drive
The only engine to score six stars was the LDV eT60, but it costs $92,990 and can tow just one tonne – a third of the capacity of most petrol and diesel cars
The latest Toyota LandCruiser 300 series diesel wagon gets just one star for emitting 235 grams.
No best-selling machine passed with the Isuzu D-Max earning two stars for emitting 183 grams of carbon per litre. kilometer.
The only engine to score six stars was the all-electric, Chinese-built LDV eT60, but it costs $92,990 and can tow just one tonne – a third of the capacity of most petrol and diesel engines.
The federal government already mandates fuel efficiency labels on new cars.
But the NSW Government’s carbon ratings for new and used cars are more akin to the energy ratings on fridges and washing machines, with fewer stars suggesting it emits more greenhouse gas emissions.
State Environment Minister Penny Sharpe has launched the new comparison site as her federal Labor colleagues seek to cut carbon emissions from new cars by 60 per cent between 2025 and 2029.
“The Vehicle Emissions Star Rating website offers emissions and efficiency information in a simple format so consumers can choose a new or used car that will reduce their emissions,” she said Wednesday.
‘This is both good for their pocketbook and good for the environment.
“Battery electric vehicles are the cleanest light-duty vehicles that receive a six-star rating because they produce no tailpipe emissions.”
The Toyota LandCruiser 70 series ute (pictured) emits 281 grams of carbon per kilometers, making it an even worse V8 offender than the RAM 1500’s 279 grams per kilometre. kilometer
State Environment Minister Penny Sharpe has launched the new comparison site as her federal Labor colleagues try to cut carbon emissions from new cars by 60 per cent between 2025 and 2029
The Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-Max – Australia’s three bestsellers in 2023 – all emit an average of 194 grams of carbon per kilometer.
Federal Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen’s new vehicle emissions standard will aim to reduce average light commercial emissions by 60 per cent from 199 grams per litre. kilometers in 2025 to only 81 percent in 2029.
From January 2025, car companies will be fined $100 for every gram above an annual carbon threshold for an average new fleet of light commercial vehicles and passenger cars.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries fears the price of large four-wheel drive vehicles will increase by $13,250 as car companies pass on the cost of fines to customers.
Car suppliers that struggled to reduce their CO2 emissions also have the option of buying credits from car companies that mainly sold smaller cars or electric cars.
Isuzu, which sells the D-Max ute and MU-X all-wheel drive, has threatened to pull out of Australia as a result of these new proposed laws, which are modeled after the EU’s Euro 6d emissions rules.
Isuzu, which sells the D-Max ute and MU-X all-wheel drive (pictured), has threatened to pull out of Australia as a result of these new proposed laws
“The penalties currently proposed by the government for failing to meet emissions targets are also excessive, and many vehicle brands may be forced to increase vehicle prices to cover the penalties incurred,” it said.
“Vehicle brands that cannot raise vehicle prices to cover the sanctions may be left with no option but to exit the Australian market, which in turn risks weakening competition to the detriment of Australian consumers.”
NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s new website is live at www.vesr.gov.au