Lexus ad banned over hybrid SUV claims

Lexus has become the latest firm to fall foul of the advertising watchdog over its environmental claims after an advert promoting its hybrid SUV was today banned.

The press advert claimed the Lexus RX 400h was "perfect for today's climate. (And tomorrow's)", and added that " driving the world's first luxury hybrid SUV makes environmental, and economic, sense".

The small print at the bottom of the advert stated that the car had CO2 emissions of 192g/km.

The advert prompted four complaints that it was misleading as it implied that the car caused little or no harm to the environment and had lower emissions than other vehicles.

Lexus said the claim that the car was suitable "for today's climate" was intended to refer to the economic climate and argued that the photograph of an SUV included in the advert made it clear the claim that it made environmental sense compared to other SUVs.

It also said that it had changed the advert upon receiving the complaints and that it now made no reference to the environment.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) welcomed the change, but still banned the original advert, claiming that it was misleading.

It ruled that the advert implied that the vehicle's emissions rate was low in comparison with all cars, which is not the case.

In fact, the Lexus RX 400h 192g/km emissions rate is significantly higher than the average for European cars of 158g/km.

A spokeswoman for the ASA said that the ruling further highlighted the need for firms to use precise and verifiable claims when promoting their green credentials.

"The claim that the car made environmental and economic sense was just too vague," she said. "If you are going to make green statements, you need to be able to back them up and in the case of Lexus, they needed to show very clearly how the car made environmental sense, which they failed to do."