New star ratings for vehicle CO2 emissions in Australia announced

A new website has been launched in Australia to compare fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of new and used vehicles with a star rating, similar to crash-test scores.

The Vehicle Emissions Star Rating (VESR) website has been announced by the NSW Government, but was developed "in consultation" with the Australian Government, and is endorsed by all state and territory governments.

Akin to the energy rating label found on home appliances, the six-star emission rating program awards more stars to cars with lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

The website – available here – includes data for 16,000 new and used cars, SUVs, utes and vans, dating back to 2004.

However it is not new data, rather it is the Federal Government's Green Vehicle Guide repackaged on a new website, with a new user interface.

The VESR website "gives no warranty regarding [the] accuracy, quality, timeliness, completeness, currency or suitability for any particular purpose," of the Green Vehicle Guide data, which does not have information for some new models, such as the latest 2023-onwards Toyota Corolla hybrid.

Filters on the VESR website allow users to search for the desired vehicle and sort by star rating, fuel consumption or estimated annual running costs.

All electric vehicles score a six-star rating, but users can filter to understand the performance of petrol, diesel, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles as well.

The highest-ranking petrol cars have four stars – including the 2013 Alfa Romeo MiTo, Fiat Panda TwinAir and 1.0-litre 2015 Audi A1 – while the highest score for a diesel car is also four stars, with vehicles such as the 1.5-litre 2017 Renault Megane wagon.

Curiously, hybrids only receive a maximum of 4.0 stars – such as the 2023 Hyundai Kona hybrid – but plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) score up to 5.5 stars (including the Kia Niro PHEV).

The stars are awarded according to a calculated volume of CO2 emissions – however the figures are based on manufacturer claims, not real-world data.

Independent testing by the Australian Automobile Association (AAA) found the real-world fuel use of the top-selling vehicles tested was up to 20 per cent higher than manufacturer-claimed data.