The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)’s final Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rule follows the initial proposal, released last July, which the Biden administration presented as both more environmentally friendly and a benefit to consumers’ pocketbooks.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg projected the final rules would increase fuel efficiency for passenger cars about 2 percent, also upping fuel economy about 2 percent for light trucks with model years 2029-2031.
The average fuel economy for light-duty vehicles will increase to just over 50 miles per gallon by the beginning of the next decade and save car and light truck owners more than $600 in fuel costs over the life of the vehicle, according to the department.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing the car and light-truck industries, was broadly supportive of the final rule and said it alleviated some of their earlier concerns.
President and CEO John Bozzella said the group had specifically been concerned last year about whether automakers would be considered in violation of CAFE rules if they complied with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules, which does not appear to be the case in the final rule.
The EPA has issued a separate rule that is expected to shift new car sales significantly towards electric vehicles (EV).
“Those fines wouldn’t have produced any environmental benefits or additional fuel economy and would’ve foolishly diverted automaker capital away from the massive investments required by the electric vehicle transition. It looks like the left hand knew what the right hand was doing. That’s the kind of coordination we recommended. So that’s good and appreciated,” he wrote.
Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.
