December 5

less is more

The car of the future is energy efficient. If in Detroit, Wolfsburg, Beijing, Bombay, Torino or Göteborg - all car manufacturers start to adopt this principle. How can we influence the markets in a country that does not produce any cars? The policy of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy is this:

Market transparency: Most important instrument for the promotion of energy efficient vehicles is the energy label for passenger cars. It informs about fuel consumption, CO2-emission and energy efficiency compared to the vehicle's empty weight. The threshold to reach good efficiency category has been hightened for heavy vehicles. Tip: Look for a Start-Stop-Automatic when buying a car.
>> www.energylabel.ch with vehicle data bank

Financial incentives: The energylabel will become more important, when presumably as of 2010 a bonus-system will be introduced. Those who purchase a car of category A or B, will receive an efficiency bonus. If the car is particularly low in emissions an environment bonus will be added. The bonus will be financed by higher car taxes. The expected reduction in CO2 emissions is estimated at around 200'000 tons per year. This action is considered to be a cost effective climate measure (21 francs per reduced ton of CO2).
>> Refresh your memory on www.eco-drive.ch.

Technology: SwissEnergy supports innovative research and development projects, e.g. regarding lighter vehicles, new power engines or services such as bicycle taxis and mobility centres.
>> Research and development projects in the field of mobility