NHTSA Eases CAFE Regs For 2027-2031 Model Years

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today issued new vehicle fuel economy standards that it projects will save Americans more than $23 billion in fuel costs while reducing pollution. The agency also projects the standards will prevent more than 710 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, reduce air pollution, and reduce the country’s dependence on oil. It does ease light truck standards to the same as cars with 2% per year increase but only in the 2029-31 model years, in effect giving American heavy duty pickup truck makers a slight break in the rate of increase in a segment they dominate.*

“Not only will these new standards save Americans money at the pump every time they fill up, they will also decrease harmful pollution and make America less reliant on foreign oil,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “These standards will save car owners more than $600 in gasoline costs over the lifetime of their vehicle.”

“This rule is in accordance with continuous energy security efforts that date back to the 1970s, when the average vehicle got about 13 miles to the gallon,” NHTSA said.

NHTSA said that the last regulatory revisions came after reviewing the tens of thousands of public comments submitted on NHTSA’s August 2023 proposal for MYs 2027-2031 Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards and MYs 2030-2035 Heavy-Duty Pickup Trucks and Vans (HDPUV) Fuel Efficiency Standards and the accompanying Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

The final rule establishes standards that would require an industry-wide fleet average of ~50.4 miles per gallon (mpg) in MY 2031 for passenger cars and light trucks, and an industry fleet-wide average for HDPUVs of roughly 2.851 gallons per 100 miles in MY 2035 (35 mpg – AutoCrat).

The final CAFE standards increase at a rate of 2% per year for passenger cars in MYs 2027-31 and 2% per year for light trucks in model years 2029-31. The final HDPUV fuel efficiency standards increase at a rate of 10% per year in MYs 2030-2032 and 8% per year in MYs 2033-2035.

“The final standards provide critical savings at the gas pump for American consumers and set goals that are consistent with Congress’ direction to conserve energy and provide flexibility to industry on how best to meet those goals from proven, available fuel-saving technologies,” NHTSA said.

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