Ban on BMW electric car ad over misleading environmental claims
Wed 06 December 2017
View all news
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned an advert for an electric BMW car saying it made misleading environmental claims. The advertisement for the BMW i3 (which is available as both a pure battery version or with a petrol range extender) appeared in a Facebook advertisement which has been censured by the UK’s advertising watchdog for claiming the electric car, was “clean” and “zero emissions”, in a ruling that could have a knock-on effect on other electric car advertising.
The particular advertisement was published as a Facebook post using testimonials from real customers to provide positive feedback on the BMW i3. The i3 differs from some other pure electric vehicles, due to the optional addition of a small petrol engine. Unlike hybrid cars, which have a petrol-driven engine that can take over from the electric system when it runs out of charge, on longer journeys or at higher speeds, the i3’s petrol engine is only used to maintain the charge on the electric drive. However, the avertising watchdog said the claims made in relation to zero emissions output weren't clear as to whether the claim was in relation to the electric battery model only.
BMW said it would usually qualify a zero-emissions claim by making clear that it referred to driving the car, but this was not possible in the ad because it was included in an unedited testimonial. However, the ASA ruling said: "Because cars which used petrol cannot be described as 'zero emissions' or as a 'clean car' and it was not clear from the ad that the claim was in relation to the electric battery model only, we concluded that the claims were misleading." The addition of a petrol feature means the car could not be 100% clean.
Additionally and interestingly, the watchdog referred to the growing interest in the full life cycle of cars stating “We considered that the claim “helps to give back to the environment” would be understood by consumers to mean that owning and driving the car had a net benefit on the environment taking into account its full life cycle.” And they concluded that the claim was therefore misleading.
Related Links
< Back to news list