DOT, EPA Set National Standards for Fuel Economy and First Greenhouse Gas Emission Levels For Light-Duty Vehicles

Final MY 2011 and MY 2012-2016 passenger car fuel economy targets, based on vehicle footprint. Source: NHTSA. Click to enlarge.

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today jointly established increasingly stringent fuel economy standards under DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Corporate Average Fuel Economy program and greenhouse gas emission standards under the Clean Air Act for 2012 through 2016 model-year vehicles. (Earlier post.)

Starting with 2012 model year vehicles, the rules together require automakers to improve fleet-wide fuel economy and reduce fleet-wide greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 5% every year:

• NHTSA has established fuel economy standards that strengthen each year reaching an estimated 34.1 mpg for the combined industry-wide fleet (cars and light-trucks) for model year 2016.

  The CAFE standards are expressed as mathematical functions depending on vehicle footprint. Each light vehicle model produced for sale in the United States will have a fuel economy target. The CAFE levels that must be met by the fleet of each manufacturer will be determined by computing the sales-weighted harmonic average of the targets applicable to each of the manufacturer’s passenger cars and light trucks.

• Because credits for air-conditioning improvements can be used to meet the EPA standards, but not the NHTSA standards, the EPA standards require that by the 2016 model-year, manufacturers must achieve a combined average vehicle emission level of 250 grams of carbon dioxide per mile. The EPA standard would be equivalent to 35.5 miles per gallon if all reductions came from fuel economy improvements.

NHTSA’s CAFE standards and EPA’s GHG standards will both be in effect—i.e., meeting one does not obviate the need to meet the other.

The agencies said that the new National Program will:

• Reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 960 million metric tons over the lifetime of the vehicles regulated, equivalent to taking 50 million cars and light trucks off the road in 2030.

• Conserve about 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the lifetime of the vehicles regulated.

• Enable the average car buyer of a 2016 model year vehicle to enjoy a net savings of $3,000 over the lifetime of the vehicle, as upfront technology costs are offset by lower fuel costs.

DOT and EPA received more than 130,000 public comments on the September 2009 proposed rules, with overwhelming support for the strong national policy. Manufacturers will be able to build a single, light-duty national fleet that satisfies all federal requirements as well as the standards of California and other states. The collaboration of federal agencies also allows for clearer rules for all automakers, instead of three standards (DOT, EPA, and a state standard).

NHTSA and EPA expect automobile manufacturers will meet these standards by more widespread adoption of conventional technologies that are already in commercial use, such as more efficient engines, transmissions, tires, aerodynamics, and materials, as well as improvements in air conditioning systems