The Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology, ESMA, has announced the success of its wide-reaching fuel and tire efficiency awareness campaign this year, in co-operation with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADNOC, Distribution, across 20 petrol stations nationwide.

The number of consumers directly exposed to the campaign reached 1.4 million, according to ADNOC’s statistics, Abdulla Almaeeni, Director-General of ESMA, stated.

He also confirmed that the campaign focused on the importance of educating the public about fuel consumption at certain distances per litre, consequently helping them to choose the right vehicles, to ensure savings and reduce the negative effects to the environment, in line with the country's National Agenda 2021 and its sustainable objectives.

Unofficial estimates indicate that the UAE's annual share of the Gulf motor vehicle market is 18.5 percent, which places it second to Saudi Arabia, he added.

ESMA took around two years to study, prepare and co-ordinate with producers and suppliers of motor vehicles before issuing mandatory fuel and tire efficiency standards, at a time when regional research institutions expect the number of vehicles in the UAE to reach around 3.5 million by 2020.

Innovative methods were used to communicate with the target audience, including going directly to refuelling stations, Almaeeni further added.

ESMA distributed 1,875 t-shirts bearing the slogan of the campaign to workers in the 20 targeted ADNOC stations, as well as awareness publications, including leaflets and large signs placed on their doors.