WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/NZL/34 
7 June 2007 
 (07-2371) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6. 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   
NEW ZEALAND  
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):         
2. Agency responsible:    
Ministry for the Environment, PO Box 10 362, Wellington. 
Telephone: (0064) 4 439 7400 Fax:  (0064) 4 439 7700 
Email:  Andred.Saker@mfe.govt.nz 
Website: www.mfe.govt.nz  
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, e-mail and web-site 
addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be  indicated if different from above:    
Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, 44 The Terrace, PO Box 388, Wellington 
Telephone: +(64) 4 470 2200 Fax:  +(64) 4 499 5330 Email:  richard.woolford@eeca.govt.nz Website: http://www.eeca.govt.nz/transport/vehicle-fuel-economy/index.htm 
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [  X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:         
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in  addition, where applicable):   Motor cars  
(HS:  8703.21, 8703.22, 8703.23, 8703.24, 8703.31, 8703.32, 8703.32, 8703.33, 8703.90) 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   The Minister of 
Energy has proposed to create regulations to  create a mandatory fuel economy labelling 
scheme for all vehicles under 3.5 tonnes.   
The Regulations will be created pursuant to s 36 of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation 
Act 2000, which can be examined on the website: http://legislation.govt.nz/browse_vw.asp?content-set=pal_statutes 
The proposed Regulations are under development. G/TBT/N/NZL/34 
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6. Description of content:    
The proposed regulations will require all vehi cles under 3.5 tonnes (excluding motorcycles) 
to display a fuel economy label at the point of sale.  The scheme comprises 5 major components and will: 
 
I. Be mandatory at the point of sale for ne w and used vehicles weighing less than 3.5 
tonnes offered for sale by registered motor traders (except for online sales, see point 
(v) below).  The scheme will apply at point of sale only, so that the obligation rests with the motor vehicle trader.  The scheme is therefore not an import restriction. 
 
II. Use a dedicated label that displays a star-rating of the vehicle’s fuel economy to 
enable comparison across the fleet. 
 
III. Require the display of additional informati on such as per annum fuel costs to help 
the consumer. 
 
IV. Be based on the fuel economy informati on which is collected by the New Zealand 
government and displayed on Land Trans port New Zealand’s Fuelsaver website 
(www.fuelsaver.govt.nz).  Fuel economy info rmation is currently collected at the 
time of importation for: 
 
- new vehicles manufactured from January 2005 and imported after 
February 2005, and for  
- vehicles previously registered in  Japan, manufactured from January 
2000 and imported after February 2005. 
-  
The Fuelsaver website displays fuel economy information for specific vehicles based on the information collected at the time of importation.  There are a number of vehicles (such as pre-2000 vehicles or one -off imports) for which fuel economy 
information is not collected, and therefore not available on the Fuelsaver website.  A 
label will not be required for these vehicl es.  The label itself will be configured 
according to the Fuelsaver data.  
 
V. Apply to all vehicles offered for sale on vehicle trading websites, including private 
sales (where information is available on the Fuelsaver website  
www.fuelsaver.govt.nz). 
 
A detailed explanation of the scheme’s scope is available at the website: http://www.eeca.govt.nz/transport/vehicle-fuel-economy/index.htm  
7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:  
Environmental protection and meeting New Z ealand’s international obligations.  The 
objectives are (1) to improve the fuel economy of  the vehicle fleet by influencing purchase 
decisions; (2) to contribute to a 20% improvement in national energy efficiency by 2012, as 
targeted under the 2001 National Energy Effici ency and Conservation Strategy; (3) to 
reduce national greenhouse gas emissions, as targeted under the Kyoto Protocol 
8. Relevant documents:   A fact sheet describing the scope of the scheme is available at 
http://www.eeca.govt.nz/transport/vehicle-fuel-economy/index.htm  G/TBT/N/NZL/34 
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  9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:    1 October 2007 
1 November 2007 
10. Final date for comments:   90 days from the circulation date 
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [  ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body:   
The empowering legislation can be examined on the web site: 
http://legislation.govt.nz/browse_vw.asp?content-set=pal_statutes  
The Regulations, once implemented, will be available on the website: 
http://legislation.govt.nz/browse_vw.asp?content-set=pal_regs  Updates on the process of drafting the regul ations will be available on the website: 
http://www.eeca.govt.nz/transport/vehicle-fuel-economy/index.htm