James Dyson has been thwarted by the European Union legislation.
The British entrepreneur wanted to get rid of the EU energy labelling system because he felt it allowed rival companies to achieve misleading efficiency ratings for their vacuum cleaners.
Sir James took his case to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, but lost the battle.
He claimed that the efficiency labels are deceptive since they are based on tests which are conducted on cleaners when they are in “pristine” condition in laboratories.
He argued that this gives a competitive advantage to rival producers. It means the European Commission’s regime can “mislead consumers on the real environmental impact” of the machine, Sir James said.
Sir James’ cylindrical vacuum is marketed on the premise that it retains suction as it fills with household dirt, unlike devices that use a bag.
The court accepted that the testing regime is flawed, saying “the suction performance and energy efficiency of a vacuum cleaner with a dust-loaded receptacle will be reduced due to dust accumulation”.
But it dismissed the claim, saying that Dyson could not come up with an alternative test that would be “reliable, accurate and reproducible”.
In a statement, the company said the ruling “defies belief”, and compared it to the Volkswagen emissions scandal.
“It is deplorable that the ECJ endorses tests that don’t attempt to represent in-home use, and we believe this is causing consumers to be misled,” it said.
“By this judgment, the ECJ has given its support to unrepresentative tests devised by the commission with a small group of European manufacturers, which in our view disregards the interests of consumers in Europe. The judgment is all the more surprising in view of the revelations about car testing in the VW scandal, where the tests do not reflect real life usage.”
Dyson must pay its own legal costs, and those of the European Commission.
Last month the company took legal action against Bosch and Siemens alleging they were misleading buyers because independent tests showed that their machines could use more than 1600W of power when used containing dust but their 750W rating was gained when the machines were dust-free.
This would mean an AAAA rating from test conditions could fall to an E or F in the home.
Parent company BSH Home Appliances said it was taking legal steps against Dyson over the "unfounded and untrue" statements.
