Mercedes' green claim rejected by advert watchdog

German car manufacturer Daimler's characteristic Mercedes-Benz star is seen outside a Mercedes dealership in Frankfurt, July 30, 2009 file photo.

LONDON (Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz adverts for its new E class saloon series which said "CO2 emissions for the range are down to 139g/km" were banned on Wednesday after the advertising watchdog ruled the ads were misleading.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) noted only two out of the 24 possible permutations in the Mercedes range had a 139g/km figure, the exact CO2 emissions figure per vehicle being dependent on a number of possible variations.

Those variations included the choice between petrol and diesel, manual and automatic gearbox, and were also affected by various alloy wheel size.

"We considered that the headline claim would give the impression to readers that a significant proportion of the range had achieved the lowest emissions figure, or a figure that was relatively low for the class, when that was not the case," the ASA said in its ruling.

The watchdog said the advert must not appear again in its current form.

(Reporting by Matthew Jones)