The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has amended federal requirements related to alternative fuel vehicles by consolidating the label the FTC uses for alt-fuel vehicles with the labels the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires. In effect, the decision eliminates the need for two different labels and, in turn, reduces compliance issues for OEMs and aftermarket conversion companies.
The requirements mandated that labels provide information such as driving range and fuel type to help consumers compare alt-fuel vehicles. The FTC proposed requiring manufacturers to use only the EPA's fuel economy label for their new AFVs, in lieu of existing FTC label requirements, saying that such a policy would ‘eliminate duplicative labels and reduce manufacturer burden without negatively affecting consumers.’ So now, information specific to alt-fuel vehicles will appear in a single EPA-style fuel economy label.
The FTC says the new rule will become effective May 31.
