Ad description
A website for Toyota, www.toyota.co.uk, seen in March 2022, featured a page about its bZ4X model, an electric vehicle. One section of text stated, “Making electric easy. …Three charging options offer flexibility – use rapid public charging to reach 80% charge in around 30 minutes* with a 150 kW fast-charging system, charge through a fast charging wallbox which can be installed at home, or plug into a socket at home”.
Further down the page in a section headed “Rapid charging” text stated, “You can easily find rapid charging points in a number of public locations. These highly efficient units are able to recharge 80% of your Toyota bZ4X batter in approximately 30 minutes*”.
The *asterisk linked to text further down the page which stated, “*Charging times subject to local circumstance. Rapid charging power ratings can vary by location”.
Further down the page was an FAQ section that included the text, “How long does charging take? Vehicle charging time depends on the power supply. At rapid public charge points, you can charge in as little as 30 mins. Wallbox charging takes between 6.5 to 10 hours^”.
Issue
The complainant, who believed that there were significant limitations to achieving the advertised charging rate, challenged whether the claim “use rapid public charging to reach 80% charge in around 30 minutes with a 150 kW fast-charging system”, was misleading and could be substantiated.
Response
Toyota (GB) plc said they were focused on developing their range of electrified vehicles to achieve their goal of a clean and zero emissions future. They said the electrified vehicle market in the UK was expanding at a rapid rate but, while hybrid and battery electric vehicles were now familiar on British roads, there were still barriers to adoption by consumers. They understood one of these factors to be consumer concerns about charging.
Toyota said they wished to help consumers make a more informed choice, and that the claim that was the subject of the complaint was intended to alert consumers to the advances in battery and charging technology. They said the new generation of ‘fast’, ‘rapid’ and ‘ultra-rapid’ chargers had led to much faster charging times. They said that the bZ4X model had a maximum charging power of 150 kW and therefore was able to draw the maximum power that a 150 kW ultra-rapid charger could deliver.
They believed that it was essential that manufacturers retained the right to inform consumers where an electric car was able to maximise the benefits of 150 kW charging to enable consumers to make comparisons between vehicles. Consumers could then draw conclusions as to how relevant the continuing roll-out of ultra-rapid charging infrastructure would be to a specific electric vehicle, before ordering one.
Toyota said the ad explicitly stated the claim related to using a 150 kW fast charging system, and they said they used conservative, rather than absolute language when stating it would achieve a 80% charge “in around 30 minutes”. They said the claim was caveated, with a prominent footnote informing consumers that the charging times were subject to local circumstance and that rapid charging power ratings could vary by location. They believed that this conveyed to the average consumer that their local circumstances might affect their individual charging time and so the charge time in particular circumstances might differ from that stated on the website. They said the ad also set out the "fast-charging system" in the context of other charging options such as a home wall box and plugging into a socket at home.
They provided a document showing the results of real-world testing of the battery done in November 2021, which included total charge time and a graph showing the charging curve. They said they accepted there were variables that could impact on charging times, and that charging times may be longer than normal in very hot or very cold temperatures, where that affected the temperature of the battery.
They explained that the bZ4X was fitted with battery heating and cooling technology as standard. The technology was designed to maintain battery temperature at the most efficient level during vehicle usage and charging, and that helped to support the battery charge time in varying weather conditions. They had still qualified the claim to make it clear that charging times were “subject to individual circumstance”.
They said the ad had appeared six months before the bZ4X was available in the UK and the claim was being made in relation to a vehicle that was available for pre-order only. The average consumer would have understood the ad in that context, namely, that the car was designed to have the advertised charging capability, but that figure was based on test data obtained before the vehicle had appeared on UK roads, and that the claim also related to the vehicle when new. They added that additional technology within the car maintained battery life, helping to minimise the impact of battery age/condition on charge time.
Toyota considered that the average consumer (particularly the average consumer contemplating an electric vehicle purchase) would be aware, including from the additional context provided by the ad and the associated footnotes, that references to fast 150 kW charging systems indicated higher speed charging compared to home charging or public charging. They believed consumers would also know that not all charging units were rated 150 kW and that they would need to travel to access the relevant units. They said consumers would understand that 150 kW charging was not optimal in all circumstances, since it would be more convenient and better value to charge at home, when time was not an issue. Drivers would mainly require 150 kW charging when they were in transit on longer journeys, as they would not want to spend significant time at service stations waiting for the battery to charge before resuming their journey.
Toyota said that, at the time the ad appeared, Zap Map, a website showing where EV charging points could be found, indicated there were 419 charging points at 134 locations in the UK. Of those, 30 points at seven locations were in Scotland and nine points at two locations were in Wales. They said that it was more relevant to consider the numbers of charging points in October 2022 because that was the time the bZ4X first appeared on UK roads; it had only been available to order in March 2022. In October 2022 there were 946 charging points at 243 locations in the UK, of which 57 points at 14 locations were in Scotland and 31 points at six locations were in Wales, although a map showing the precise location of 150 kW charging points was not available. They considered the ad was therefore unlikely to mislead on the basis of charger availability, given the reference to different charging options in the ad.
They noted that there were currently no charging units offering a 150 kW+ power rating in Northern Ireland and said they would make this clear when using claims similar claims in future.
Toyota stated that availability of 150 kW+ charging systems was continually increasing and at a rapid rate, so drivers would have even more options during 2022 and 2023 and beyond.
They said they understood that 150 kW+ chargers were available in multiple locations across the UK, including in major population centres and major travel points on motorways or major arterial roads, and they believed it was those areas where drivers were most likely to need them. They said they understood that ultra-rapid 150 kW charging was less likely to be the most suitable option for drivers making short journeys in urban or extra-urban locations as those drivers would rarely need to charge up to 80%, fast, to complete their journey. Instead, a lesser 'top-up', delivered as quickly by a less powerful public charger was likely to be sufficient.
Assessment
Upheld
The ASA considered that consumers would interpret the claim “use rapid public charging to reach 80% charge in around 30 minutes with a 150 kW fast-charging system” in the ad to mean that the Toyota bZ4X would always achieve a battery charge from 0% to 80% in around 30 minutes when using a 150 kW charger. We noted that the claim was linked to text further down the page that stated, “Charging times subject to local circumstance”. However, we considered it was unclear what “local circumstance” meant and how it was likely to impact on battery charging times.
We acknowledged that the evidence provided by Toyota showed that, under standardised testing conditions (with a new battery and in a temperature-controlled environment with an ambient temperature of around 25 degrees centigrade) the battery could be charged from 0% to 80% in 30 minutes and 13 seconds using a 150 kW charger.
However, we understood that various real-world factors such as battery temperature, ambient temperature and age and condition of the battery, might affect the time it would take for a battery to charge to 80%. If any of those conditions were less than optimal, then charging times would likely take longer than 30 minutes. We understood that the car had technology that was designed to maintain battery temperature at the most efficient level during vehicle usage and charging, which helped to support the battery charge time in varying weather conditions. However, battery temperature was one of several factors that could influence charging time. We would therefore expect Toyota to qualify the charging claim with an explanation of the conditions under which the figures were achieved and that they may not reflect actual consumer experience.
We considered that a further limitation that was likely to affect whether consumers were able to achieve the claimed charging time was the availability of 150 kW chargers. We considered that the average consumer may not have an awareness of the speed or availability of a 150 kW charger in comparison to other chargers, although we acknowledged that consumers interested in purchasing an electric vehicle would be likely to have some awareness that they may need to travel to access the network of rapid charging points.
We noted that the ad described the 150 kW charger as a “fast-charging system” that would provide “rapid public charging” and stated that alternative options were “a fast-charging wallbox” that could be installed at home or by plugging into a socket at home. Text further down the page stated, “You can easily find rapid charging points in a number of public locations. These highly efficient units are able to charge 80% of your Toyota bz4X battery in approximately 30 minutes*”. The sub-heading to the text containing the claim stated, “Making electric easy”. Taking into account those references to ease and public locations, and in the absence of any specific limitations in the ad stating otherwise, we considered that the average consumer was likely to form the impression that it was relatively straightforward to access 150 kW chargers throughout the UK in public places. We considered that the text “Rapid charging power ratings can vary by location” was insufficient to make clear that the provision of 150 kW chargers varied across the UK and was not available in Northern Ireland.
We concluded that because the ad omitted material information about the factors that could significantly affect the advertised charging time and the limitations in relation to the availability of 150 kW chargers in Northern Ireland and across the UK, the claim “use rapid public charging to reach 80% charge in around 30 minutes with a 150 kW fast-charging system” had not been substantiated and was misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1, 3.3 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation) and 3.9 (Qualification).
Action
The ad must not appear again in the form complained of. We told Toyota to ensure their ads did not mislead about battery charging times.
