The US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today issued a proposal to update fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks. The “preferred alternative” among several in NHTSA’s proposal includes a 2% per year improvement in fuel efficiency for passenger cars and a 4% per year improvement for light trucks beginning in model year 2027. This increases through model year 2032, potentially reaching an average fleet fuel economy of 58 miles per gallon by 2032. However, NHTSA notes that real word fuel economy is ~20-30% lower than estimated CAFE fuel economy.*
“Better vehicle fuel efficiency means more money in Americans’ pockets and stronger energy security for the entire nation,” said US. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. NHTSA is being technology neutral here. NHTSA does not take electric and other alternative fuels into account in setting the standards. However, manufacturers may use all available technologies, including advanced internal combustion engines, hybrid technologies and electric vehicles – for compliance.
NHTSA said the proposed fuel economy standards complement and align with the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently proposed emissions standards for similar vehicle fleets. “NHTSA will coordinate with the EPA to optimize the effectiveness of its standards while minimizing compliance costs, consistent with applicable statutory factors. With the release of today’s proposal, NHTSA invites comments from all stakeholders on how this goal can be achieved,” NHTSA said.
The new proposal, not surprisingly, also supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to cutting costs for Americans and reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution in communities near freeways and other heavily trafficked roads, which are disproportionately low-income communities of color. Since the lowest-income households spend nearly 20% of their income on transportation fuels, which is three times the average US household, this proposal is consistent with the Administration’s commitment to advancing environmental justice.
“CAFE standards have driven the auto industry to innovate in improving fuel economy in ways that benefit our nation and all Americans,” said NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson. “The new standards we’re proposing today would advance our energy security, reduce harmful emissions, and save families and business owners money at the pump. That’s good news for everyone.”
*If finalized as proposed, this alternative would:
- Save consumers more than $50 billion on fuel over the vehicles’ lifetimes.
- Reduce our dependence on oil by saving more than 88 billion gallons of gasoline through 2050.
- Prevent more than 900 million tons of CO2 emissions – the equivalent of taking more than 233 million vehicles off the road from 2022 through 2050.
The proposal also models a range of additional alternatives. NHTSA requests comments on the full range of standards from the no-action alternative to the most stringent alternative modeled, including comments on combinations of standards that may not be explicitly identified in the proposal.
USDOT Proposes 58 MPG Fuel Economy Standard
The US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today issued a proposal to update fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks. The “preferred alternative” among several in NHTSA’s proposal includes a 2% per year improvement in fuel efficiency for passenger cars and a 4% per year improvement for light trucks beginning in model year 2027. This increases through model year 2032, potentially reaching an average fleet fuel economy of 58 miles per gallon by 2032. However, NHTSA notes that real word fuel economy is ~20-30% lower than estimated CAFE fuel economy.*
“Better vehicle fuel efficiency means more money in Americans’ pockets and stronger energy security for the entire nation,” said US. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. NHTSA is being technology neutral here. NHTSA does not take electric and other alternative fuels into account in setting the standards. However, manufacturers may use all available technologies, including advanced internal combustion engines, hybrid technologies and electric vehicles – for compliance.
NHTSA said the proposed fuel economy standards complement and align with the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently proposed emissions standards for similar vehicle fleets. “NHTSA will coordinate with the EPA to optimize the effectiveness of its standards while minimizing compliance costs, consistent with applicable statutory factors. With the release of today’s proposal, NHTSA invites comments from all stakeholders on how this goal can be achieved,” NHTSA said.
The new proposal, not surprisingly, also supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to cutting costs for Americans and reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution in communities near freeways and other heavily trafficked roads, which are disproportionately low-income communities of color. Since the lowest-income households spend nearly 20% of their income on transportation fuels, which is three times the average US household, this proposal is consistent with the Administration’s commitment to advancing environmental justice.
“CAFE standards have driven the auto industry to innovate in improving fuel economy in ways that benefit our nation and all Americans,” said NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson. “The new standards we’re proposing today would advance our energy security, reduce harmful emissions, and save families and business owners money at the pump. That’s good news for everyone.”
*If finalized as proposed, this alternative would:
The proposal also models a range of additional alternatives. NHTSA requests comments on the full range of standards from the no-action alternative to the most stringent alternative modeled, including comments on combinations of standards that may not be explicitly identified in the proposal.