Sustainable ratings are now being applied by Autotrader on new car reviews to help buyers better understand the overall environmental impact of a car.

The ratings will sit alongside ratings for running costs, reliability, safety, features, comfort and power. The green ratings will follow the same convention currently found on Autotrader, with a maximum possible five stars, including half stars. Extensive data from each car brand, reviewed by third-party organisations such as the Science Based Targets initiative, life-cycle analysis companies and EU regulatory bodies will be used to support the methodology.

At the moment, only the Polestar 4, Alpine A290, Dacia Spring Cargo, Nissan Leaf, Renault 4 and 5 receive top marks

Erin Baker, Autotrader’s editorial director, said: “In a world in which consumers are becoming increasingly sustainability-conscious it’s vital the automotive industry can meet this demand for information and transparency. That’s why, as part of our ongoing commitment to help consumers make more environmentally friendly vehicle choices, we’ve created our new green ratings. Our scheme aims to be data-driven, transparent, fair and honest, whilst rooted in editorial expertise at both brand and model levels, based on Autotrader’s decades-long working relationships with car brands.”

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