RENAULT has become the first of the major manufacturers to respond to industry demands for the publication of comprehensive fuel consumption figures for all its cars. The move follows PHH Vehicle Management Services' call on the car makers to clear up the increasing amount of confusion being caused by having two different fuel consumption yardsticks in place (Fleet News August 16).

The chaos has been caused by manufacturers adopting differing approaches to the new EU fuel consumption test - which became mandatory for new vehicles in January, but does not become law for current models until January 1998. The current situation means new models' fuel consumption is measured using the new test, while existing vehicles continue with the old test. The two sets of figures can vary by as much as 6mpg and only a minority of manufacturers (including Vauxhall, Toyota and Honda) publish both sets of figures for all models.

Last month, PHH managing director David Knight said the manufacturers were forcing fleet managers to make unfair comparisons by not providing both sets of fuel performance figures and making it impossible to establish the most fuel-efficient model in each respective class.