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BMW Facebook ad banned over ‘zero emissions’ claim

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By John Glenday, Reporter

December 6, 2017 | 2 min read

A paid-for BMW Facebook post has been banned after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) decreed that its ‘zero emissions’ claim for i3 electric car was nothing but hot air.

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BMW Facebook ad banned over ‘zero emissions’ claim

The issue stemmed from a statement relayed within an accompanying video. The German brand said: “Having driven petrol guzzling cars before, I realised that it is now time to switch to an electric car. With zero emissions, the i3 really is a clean car and helps to give back to the environment.”

Taking aim at the unsubstantiated zero emissions claim the ASA said consumers would interpret this statement as confirmation that the i3 was a clean energy car; despite the fact that the model also included a ‘range extender’ variant which made use of a petrol engine to prolong battery life – in addition to an all-electric model.

The ASA wrote: “Because cars which used petrol cannot be described as “zero emissions” or as a 'clean car' and it was not clear from the ad that the claim was in relation to the electric battery model only, we concluded that the claims were misleading.”

In light of this BMW has been instructed not to repeat the advert in its current form, just seven months after the vehicle manufacturer was hit with a separate ban for fetishising speed and condoning irresponsible driving.

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