Is it allowed to express the engine power of a car in BHP? There is some confusion about this. Based on the Dutch Advertising code for cars (RvP), it seems permitted in the Netherlands to mention the BHP as long as the kilowatts are also stated: "Any mention of engine power shall in any way be in kilowatts (kW)”. In practice most of the time the kilowatts and BHP are both being mentioned in car advertisements.
Earlier this year, the president of the Dutch Advertising Code Committee gave an interesting judgement. This judgement was about an advertisement for used cars where only the BHP's were being mentioned. The RvP was not relevant in this case because the RvP only applies to new cars. Still the president judged that the ad was not permitted because it was in breach of the Dutch Metrology Act. Based on this Act it is forbidden to express a quantity in a measure unit that is not established by the Act. For engine power this unit is Watt. Thus, based on the Dutch Metrology Act the engine power can only be expressed in Watts. In my opinion this implies that BHP can never be mentioned. Practice shows differently, but to avoid any risk mentioning the BHP should be avoided.
Please note that the engine power in an advertisement for a new car should always be mentioned in a neutral way. Even if the engine power is expressed in watts only. Based on the RvP the engine power can never be used as a sales promotion argument.
Kim Braber, advertising lawyer
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Is it allowed to express the engine power of a car in BHP? There is some confusion about this. Based on the Dutch Advertising code for cars (RvP), it seems permitted in the Netherlands to mention the BHP as long as the kilowatts are also stated: "Any mention of engine power shall in any way be in kilowatts (kW)”. In practice most of the time the kilowatts and BHP are both being mentioned in car advertisements.
Earlier this year, the president of the Dutch Advertising Code Committee gave an interesting judgement. This judgement was about an advertisement for used cars where only the BHP's were being mentioned. The RvP was not relevant in this case because the RvP only applies to new cars. Still the president judged that the ad was not permitted because it was in breach of the Dutch Metrology Act. Based on this Act it is forbidden to express a quantity in a measure unit that is not established by the Act. For engine power this unit is Watt. Thus, based on the Dutch Metrology Act the engine power can only be expressed in Watts. In my opinion this implies that BHP can never be mentioned. Practice shows differently, but to avoid any risk mentioning the BHP should be avoided.
Please note that the engine power in an advertisement for a new car should always be mentioned in a neutral way. Even if the engine power is expressed in watts only. Based on the RvP the engine power can never be used as a sales promotion argument.
Kim Braber, advertising lawyer