ASA Adjudication on Johnsons Cars Ltd

Ad

A brochure, for a Volvo dealership, stated "ALL NEW C30 ... the real story is that the C30 has been designed with safety, performance, and the utmost respect for the environment in mind".

Issue

The complainant challenged whether the claim "has been designed with ... the utmost respect for the environment in mind" was misleading and could be substantiated, because the petrol model of the C30 was rated in band E and the diesel model in band F of the vehicle excise duty rankings for emissions.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

Johnsons Cars Ltd (Johnsons) said their agency had designed the ad using material from Volvos website. They said the claim was not linked with the vehicle excise duty rankings and they believed the word environment would be seen to encompass many more aspects than those covered by the rankings.  They said the claim referred to the design of the car and that it should be considered in relation to Volvos holistic approach to environmental care.  They provided information from Volvos website, which outlined the ways in which a Volvo car affected the environment throughout its lifecycle.  The information showed how much energy was used to manufacture Volvo cars, the quality of solvents discharged from Volvo plants, the efficiency with which materials in the cars were utilised, the quantities of recycled non-metallic material used in Volvo cars and described the measures Volvo had taken to develop a healthier in-car environment.

Johnsons said Volvo used an environmental management system for itself, its suppliers and its dealers.  They said Volvos standards for dealers covered requirements and recommendations including waste management, chemical handling and environmental training for retail personnel.  They said Volvo had reduced the environmental impact of its production plants significantly over the last 40 years.  

Johnsons said all Volvo engines complied with the provisions of the European Euro 4 standard and were equipped with European On-Board Diagnostics, which indicated when emissions levels were too high.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted the information from Volvo's website demonstrated that environmental concerns had been taken into account in some areas during the design and production process of the car.  

However, although we recognised that the claim specifically referred to the design of the car, we considered that consumers were likely to interpret the claim as a reference to all aspects of the car, including its emissions.  Because the Volvo C30 had higher CO2 emissions than other cars in its class, we concluded that the claim was likely to mislead.

The ad breached CAP Code clauses 3.1 (Substantiation), 7.1 (Truthfulness), 48.6 (Motoring) and 49.1 (Environmental claims).

Action

We told Johnson's not to repeat the claim "designed with the utmost respect for the environment in mind" in ads for the C30 or other cars which were ranked in the higher bands for CO2 emissions.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)