G/TBT/N/CHE/259  
23 June 2021  
(21-5118) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original:  English  
 
  
NOTIFICATION  
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6  
 
1. Notifying Member:  SWITZERLAND   
If applicable, name of local government involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):   
2. Agency responsible:   
Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications DETEC  
Swiss Federal Office of Energy SFOE  
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers , email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comm ents 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above:   
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO  
Holzikofenweg 36, 3003 Bern  
tbt@seco.admin.ch , www.se co.admin.ch  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other  [X]:  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff 
heading. ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  Motor cars 
and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of <10 persons, incl. 
station wagons and racing cars (excl. motor vehicles of heading 8702) (HS 8703)  
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  DETEC 
Ordinance on the Specifications for the Indication of the Energy Consumption and Other 
Characteristics of Passenger Cars, Delivery Vans and Light Semitrailers (VEE -PLS) (3 
page(s), in German; 3 page(s), in French; 3 page(s), in Italian)  
6. Description of con tent:  This notification informs of the following: In accordance with 
Article 12 of the Energy Efficiency Ordinance of November 1, 2017 (EnEV; SR 730.02), 
the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications 
(DETEC) annually adjus ts the energy efficiency categories of new passenger cars on the 
basis of the data survey on the vehicle types offered. On this basis, category limits of the 
energy label for passenger cars are recalculated annually. The annual reclassification 
ensures tha t the vehicles on offer are always divided into seven equally sized categories. 
In addition, for information on energy consumption, the average CO2 emissions are 
recalculated annually. DETEC also annually reviews the factors for calculating gasoline 
equiva lents, primary energy gasoline equivalents and CO2 emissions from upstream 
processes and adapts them to new scientific and technical findings and international 
developments. Consumers are thus guaranteed that the most energy -efficient vehicles 
are to be fo und in category A in each case.  G/TBT/N/CHE/259  
 
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  7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where 
applicable:  The information on energy consumption and the labeling of vehicles serve 
the purpose of reducing information deficits. Buyers of passenge r cars benefit from 
increased transparency and, with the energy label, have the opportunity to make a better 
informed  purchasing decision and to take energy efficiency of vehicles appropriately into 
account. The annual update of the category limits of the  energy efficiency categories takes 
the technological development in the field of vehicles into account.  ; Protection of the 
environment  
8. Relevant documents:   
The regulation in force (and the final text of the regulation, as soon as available):  
- German: https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2020/522/de   
- French: https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2020/522/fr  
- Italian: https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/2020/522/it  
  
9. Proposed date of adoption:  31 July 2021  
Proposed date of entry into force:  1 January 2022  
10. Final date for comments:  60 days from notification  
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [X] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and email and website addresses, if available , of other body:   
Swiss Information Center for Technical Rules (switec)  
Sulzerallee 70  
8404 Winterthur  
8400 
+(41) 52 224 54 55  
+(41) 52 224 54 75 (Fax)  
switec@snv.ch  
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2 021/TBT/CHE/21_4302_00_f.pdf  
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2021/TBT/CHE/21_4302_00_x.pdf  
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2021/TBT/CHE/21_4302_00_x1.pdf