NHTSA Introduces New Fuel Economy Standards for Fleets
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the United States Department of Transportation has issued new fleet fuel economy requirements. The new rules will require OEMs to increase vehicle miles per gallon, making vehicles more efficient and lowering transportation emissions.
The new Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards need an industry-wide fleet average of nearly 49 mpg for light trucks in the model year 2026, representing the most rigorous cost savings and fuel efficiency goals to date.
The revised requirements will boost fuel efficiency by 8% per year for model years 2024-2025 and 10% per year for the model year 2026. They will also raise the expected fleetwide average for the model year 2026 by roughly 10 miles per gallon compared to 2021.
Strong fuel economy requirements aim to increase the United States' energy independence and minimise dependency on fossil fuels. Since CAFE was signed into law in 1975, the regulations have cut American oil consumption by 25%, or around 5 million barrels per day. According to the NHTSA, the new CAFE criteria for model years 2024-26 will lower fuel use by more than 200 billion gallons through 2050 when compared to continuing to use the previous rules.
According to Dr Steven Cliff, Deputy Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, these new standards would make automobiles "better for the environment, safer than before, and cost less to fuel over their lifetimes."
This comes two years after the Trump administration was sued by attorneys general from 23 states over its final rule repealing Obama-era fuel efficiency rules.
