The Government Proposes to End Advertising for Combustion Engine Cars

The latest decision by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, led by Pablo Bustinduy, was to approve the draft Sustainable Consumption Law, which, among other measures, establishes a ban on advertising fossil fuels and vehicles powered exclusively by them.

The intention behind the regulation is to "strengthen the protection of consumers and the environment," with the main affected parties being energy companies, which will not be able to advertise fossil fuel-only products; airlines, in their short-haul flights when a cleaner alternative exists; and the automotive industry.

Specifically, the automotive industry will not be able to advertise models that run solely on internal combustion engines. However, although there are still vehicles with combustion engines, almost all manufacturers' models have electrified versions, which could allow them to circumvent the future law.

For example, one of the most popular models: the Volkswagen Golf. It is available in petrol, diesel, mild hybrid, and plug-in hybrid engines. While the first two could not be advertised separately, the brand could simply display the environmental labels from the DGT.

According to the ministry, it is "expected to prohibit any type of advertising on energy products composed exclusively of fossil fuels, where renewable components are not involved."

As of today, companies like Repsol are already producing products with biofuels, such as Nexa diesel, and by law, both petrol and diesel must contain a percentage from renewable sources.

This decision comes at a time when manufacturers have been forced to decarbonise their fleets to meet the European Union's emission targets, which foresee the elimination of combustion engine sales by 2035.

As such, and following the 2015 Dieselgate scandal, the automotive sector has made fuel efficiency and emission reduction its hallmark, and the advertisements it publishes largely follow this line.