‘Female drivers use more petrol’: Aussie car industry claims women less fuel efficient behind the wheel

AUSTRALIA’S car industry has made the extraordinary claim that women are “less fuel efficient” than men behind the wheel.

Women drivers are “less fuel efficient” than men, Australia’s car industry has sensationally claimed. Picture: ThinkStock

AUSTRALIA’S car industry has been slammed for using research which claims women drivers are “less fuel efficient” to justify why advertised economy rates from its lab tests can’t be achieved in the real world.

The research, which says women drive slower and change speed more often, is referred to by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries in an official response to Australian Competition and Consumer Commission allegations that motorists may have been misled over fuel usage figures on new cars.

The response says “real world consumption is affected by many factors that have little to do with the vehicle, including … driver demographics”. The FCAI then uses a diagram which says gender influences fuel efficiency.

The diagram comes from a 2014 study led by American academics covering just 108 Michigan drivers, of which 54 were women. The drivers shared 16 identical Honda Accords for 40 days. Based on the results the academics concluded “female drivers are less fuel efficient than male drivers, which is due to lower driving speed and more speed changes”.

Australian Rally Car Champion Molly Taylor labelled as “ridiculous” any suggestion fuel efficiency depended on gender.

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Molly Taylor says gender isn’t a factor. Picture: Bogdan Barabas.

“There is no genetic reason why a man with no experience is better than a woman with no experience. It’s about the experience of the driver, knowing how the car works,” Taylor said. RE

The diagram in the FCAI submission is also found in a new report from the Federal Department of Infrastructure and Regional Economics, along with the US researchers’ claim that women drivers are less fuel efficient.

That department also oversees the labelling of every new vehicle for sale in Australia with fuel economy rates. The rates are calculated by manufacturers based on their own testing in lab conditions. Cars are stationary; their wheels turn on giant rollers. The ACCC believes such results are potentially misleading and has recommended governments impose a “more realistic” test used in Europe.

The FCAI has proposed to the ACCC a “whole of government approach” including addressing “driver behaviour and how eco-driving can reduce fuel use”.

That proposal — and the referencing of gender as an explanation for consumption discrepancies — was last night described as “desperate” by consumer group Choice, which was first to reveal the chasm between lab and real-world results.

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Choice's head of campaigns Sarah Agar. Source: Twitter

“Rather than call for some kind of government-funded female driver re-education program, why not just stop peddling lies about cars’ fuel efficiency,” said Choice’s head of policy Sarah Agar.

Asked to reply, an FCAI spokesman would only say it “agrees with the Government’s view as outlined in the (Department of Infrastructure) report that there are a range of factors that will influence real world fuel consumption”.

Popular new cars guzzle up to 35 per cent more fuel when driven on Australian roads instead of in a lab, according to recent testing for the Australian Automobile Association. That is costing motorists up to $500 a year extra at the bowser.

“Generally, whoever drove the cars, boy or girl, there was a difference between lab testing and on-road testing,” said AAA communications manager Paul Kindermann.

It is not the first time Australia’s car industry has played the gender card. The ACCC has brought Federal Court proceedings against Ford for allegedly telling women their “driving style” was responsible for performance problems. The real cause, according to the ACCC, was a systemic fault in several models. A separate class action against Ford makes similar claims. Ford is defending both matters.

Studies in each of NSW, Victoria and South Australia have found women are more skilful drivers than men.

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Originally published as ‘Female drivers use more petrol’: Aussie car industry claims women less fuel efficient behind the wheel