Belgian ad jury ordered D'Ieteren to modify VW ID. Polo 'more range' ads

D'Ieteren, Volkswagen's Belgian importer, ran a TV and web campaign for the ID. Polo under the locally adapted slogan 'ID. Polo. 100% elektrisch. Meer Polo dan ooit' — 'more Polo than ever' — built on the international 'Loaded with a little extra' concept: more comfort, more boot space, more range, more Polo design, from €219 a month excl. VAT in financial renting.

A complainant argued 'meer rijbereik' (more range) and the website's 'extra rijbereik' were misleading: against the classic petrol Polo the electric car's range is lower, and a new EV has no earlier range to have 'more' of. On October 8, 2026 the JEP agreed: range is an important criterion for the average consumer choosing an electric car, and claiming 'more' or 'extra' of it with no reference point withholds essential information — capable of misleading, against articles 4 and 5 of the Belgian Advertising Code. The jury asked the advertiser to modify the ads or stop using them.

It dismissed the rest of the complaint. The 'tot 452 km' WLTP figure is the official homologated value, correctly used. And the small print reserving the leasing offer to professional users was clear enough that buying mass TV for it did not mislead: using a mass medium does not itself mean an offer addresses the general public.

No fine — self-regulation. The ads must be modified or withdrawn; the WLTP 452 km figures themselves were cleared.

'More range' and 'extra range' appeared with no reference vehicle — linguistically 'more' points to a reference quantity, and for a new EV there was none.

Range is a decisive criterion in EV purchase decisions, so an undefined comparative deprives consumers of essential information.

The 'more' concept was imported from an international creative platform without checking that 'more' stayed factual for every attribute in the Belgian market.

An unanchored comparative can mislead on its own: 'more range' needs a reference point, or the missing reference does the misleading for you.

The first-instance decision only becomes final once the appeal window lapses. JEP is self-regulation and cannot fine; its sanction is the obligation to modify or withdraw the ads. The jury noted 'more boot space' could still fit the creative concept, so the required fix is confined to the reference-free range wording. The complainant's other attacks failed: the official WLTP values were deemed correctly communicated, and the on-screen asterisk plus the website's 'reserved for professional users' line was held to make the leasing offer's audience clear.