{"id":25067,"date":"2026-02-25T14:19:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T14:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=25067"},"modified":"2026-02-25T14:19:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T14:19:24","slug":"three-quarters-of-australias-new-cars-use-more-fuel-than-advertised-lab-rating-testing-shows-transport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=25067","title":{"rendered":"Three-quarters of Australia\u2019s new cars use more fuel than advertised lab rating, testing shows | Transport"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Another 10 cars have failed to live up to fuel efficiency promises when tested in the real world, adding to Australia\u2019s difficulties in reducing emissions from transport.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Australian Automobile Association\u2019s latest test confirmed 76% of new petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles are still using more fuel on roads than in mandatory lab testing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The AAA tested 141 petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles on roads under strict protocols around Geelong, Victoria, with federal government funding.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">GWM\u2019s Tank 300 used 25% more fuel per 100km in the real world than in the laboratory, test results released on Wednesday show. Honda\u2019s HR-V used 19% more fuel and Hyundai\u2019s Santa Fe used 11% more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/email-newsletters?CMP=copyembed&amp;CMP=emailbutton\" data-link-name=\"in body link\"><sub class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/sub><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Previous tests found GWM\u2019s Haval H6 and Haval Jolian Hybrid used more fuel than advertised but its Haval Jolian 3023 was more fuel-efficient than laboratory testing had found.<\/p>\n<p><gu-island name=\"InteractiveBlockComponent\" priority=\"critical\" deferuntil=\"idle\" props=\"{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/interactive.guim.co.uk\/datawrapper\/embed\/Yjfo0\/1\/&quot;,&quot;scriptUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/interactive.guim.co.uk\/embed\/iframe-wrapper\/0.1\/boot.js&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;Table comparing a number of different car makes and models and their lab-tested fuel efficiency vs their real-world fuel efficiency&quot;,&quot;format&quot;:{&quot;design&quot;:0,&quot;display&quot;:0,&quot;theme&quot;:0},&quot;elementId&quot;:&quot;39dd8cb4-740e-4f59-9adb-66f5129ea715&quot;,&quot;isMainMedia&quot;:false}\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\"><\/p>\n<figure id=\"39dd8cb4-740e-4f59-9adb-66f5129ea715\" class=\"element element-interactive element--inline element-inline dcr-kibrkr\" data-alt=\"Table comparing a number of different car makes and models and their lab-tested fuel efficiency vs their real-world fuel efficiency\" data-testid=\"interactive-element-Table%20comparing%20a%20number%20of%20different%20car%20makes%20and%20models%20and%20their%20lab-tested%20fuel%20efficiency%20vs%20their%20real-world%20fuel%20efficiency\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\"><a data-name=\"placeholder\" href=\"https:\/\/interactive.guim.co.uk\/datawrapper\/embed\/Yjfo0\/1\/\" class=\"dcr-1eupayo\">Table comparing a number of different car makes and models and their lab-tested fuel efficiency vs their real-world fuel efficiency<\/a><\/figure>\n<p><\/gu-island><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Cars that had higher emissions on roads than they did in the lab could make the government\u2019s efforts to reduce vehicle emissions less effective, the AAA\u2019s managing director, Michael Bradley, said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cWe need to make sure the emissions reductions aren\u2019t just happening in a laboratory,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Carmakers are required to test emissions for each vehicle they sell and face penalties if they exceed emissions limits across their combined annual sales, under the Albanese government\u2019s new vehicle efficiency standard (NVES).<\/p>\n<figure id=\"931106dc-9de1-4e8c-b0c5-db9913e4954e\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-47fhrn\"><gu-island name=\"RichLinkComponent\" priority=\"feature\" deferuntil=\"idle\" props=\"{&quot;richLinkIndex&quot;:10,&quot;element&quot;:{&quot;_type&quot;:&quot;model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement&quot;,&quot;prefix&quot;:&quot;Related: &quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Mazda, Nissan, Hyundai and Subaru face fines after first six months of Australia\u2019s new emissions standards&quot;,&quot;elementId&quot;:&quot;931106dc-9de1-4e8c-b0c5-db9913e4954e&quot;,&quot;role&quot;:&quot;richLink&quot;,&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2026\/feb\/18\/carmakers-face-possible-heavy-fines-in-australia-for-failing-to-meet-climate-targets&quot;},&quot;ajaxUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/api.nextgen.guardianapps.co.uk&quot;,&quot;format&quot;:{&quot;design&quot;:0,&quot;display&quot;:0,&quot;theme&quot;:0}}\"\/><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Just two in three regulated vehicle suppliers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2026\/feb\/18\/carmakers-face-possible-heavy-fines-in-australia-for-failing-to-meet-climate-targets\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">achieved their emissions target for 2025<\/a>, the government reported last week. Those who did not, including Mazda, Nissan and Subaru, face potential penalties of up to $25m.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Bradley said the AAA\u2019s testing could independently track whether companies\u2019 real-world emissions reductions stacked up with their NVES and laboratory claims.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Prof Dongke Zhang, an energy expert at the University of Western Australia, said motorists would often use more petrol than advertised by their car\u2019s manufacturer, making it difficult to compare lab tests and real-world testing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">But Bradley said the program had found no pattern behind the performance gap, with a minority of models even proving more fuel-efficient on roads than in labs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThere\u2019s no rule of thumb here for consumers, there\u2019s no fudge factor they can bake into consumer decisions,\u201d Bradley said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The AAA has also tested nine battery electric vehicles, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2025\/dec\/04\/aaa-ev-road-tests-trial-real-world-testing-charge-range\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">none of which have delivered their promised range<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Wednesday\u2019s report added another two electric vehicles to that list: the BMW iX1 electric SUV could travel 360km on a full battery, despite its advertised range of 400km, a 10% gap.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The BYD Seal had an advertised range of 650km but was found to travel just 488km, a 25% gap. Previous testing of BYD\u2019s Atto 3 found a 23% gap between its lab-tested and real world-tested range.<\/p>\n<p><gu-island name=\"InteractiveBlockComponent\" priority=\"critical\" deferuntil=\"idle\" props=\"{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/interactive.guim.co.uk\/datawrapper\/embed\/rkhpo\/2\/&quot;,&quot;scriptUrl&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/interactive.guim.co.uk\/embed\/iframe-wrapper\/0.1\/boot.js&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;graph&quot;,&quot;format&quot;:{&quot;design&quot;:0,&quot;display&quot;:0,&quot;theme&quot;:0},&quot;elementId&quot;:&quot;cdb2b27e-0ab9-449a-af5c-ccbf4589f74d&quot;,&quot;isMainMedia&quot;:false}\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\"><\/p>\n<figure id=\"cdb2b27e-0ab9-449a-af5c-ccbf4589f74d\" class=\"element element-interactive element--inline element-inline dcr-kibrkr\" data-alt=\"graph\" data-testid=\"interactive-element-graph\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\"><a data-name=\"placeholder\" href=\"https:\/\/interactive.guim.co.uk\/datawrapper\/embed\/rkhpo\/2\/\" class=\"dcr-1eupayo\">graph<\/a><\/figure>\n<p><\/gu-island><\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Australia has been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2025\/sep\/23\/are-we-there-yet-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-electric-vehicle-revolution-in-australia\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">slower to adopt EVs than other countries<\/a>, with EVs making up 12% of new sales in the second half of last year. Bradley said the testing could give buyers more confidence in the true range of an EV they were buying.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThey are worried about range anxiety, they are worried about black spots in the regional network, they are worried about access to fast chargers in their neighbourhood,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThey really need to know what the exact range of a new car is.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"0736bb45-2d96-472c-b462-ed8a4a5b6e08\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.EmbedBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\"><gu-island name=\"UnsafeEmbedBlockComponent\" priority=\"feature\" deferuntil=\"visible\" props=\"{&quot;html&quot;:&quot;&lt;script src=\\&quot;https:\/\/uploads.guim.co.uk\/2025\/01\/21\/article-button.js\\&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt;&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;pointer&quot;,&quot;index&quot;:23,&quot;isTracking&quot;:false,&quot;isMainMedia&quot;:false,&quot;source&quot;:&quot;The Guardian&quot;,&quot;sourceDomain&quot;:&quot;uploads.guim.co.uk&quot;}\"><iframe class=\"js-embed__iframe dcr-uzb1jv\" title=\"pointer\" name=\"unsafe-embed-23\" data-testid=\"embed-block\" srcdoc=\"&lt;script src=&quot;https:\/\/uploads.guim.co.uk\/2025\/01\/21\/article-button.js&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt;&#10;            &lt;script src=&quot;https:\/\/interactive.guim.co.uk\/libs\/iframe-messenger\/iframeMessenger.js&quot;&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;&#10;            &lt;gu-script&gt;iframeMessenger.enableAutoResize();&lt;\/gu-script&gt;\"><\/iframe><\/gu-island><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>#Threequarters #Australias #cars #fuel #advertised #lab #rating #testing #shows #Transport<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Another 10 cars have failed to&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25067"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}