The Biden administration unveiled a new fuel economy standard that would affect both light trucks and cars and could potentially help Americans save hundreds of dollars.
On Friday the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) introduced new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards that all light trucks and passenger cars need to follow by 2027. These new requirements would mean that fuel efficiency will increase by 4 and 2 percent respectively. Fuel efficiency will also need to be improved in work vans and pickup trucks by 10 percent every single year after 2030.
The agency has argued that by 2032 it is likely that the U.S. fleet fuel economy average will be at 58 miles per gallon. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), recent estimate found that cars from 2022 average 26.4 miles per gallon, which would mean that with the new standards, automakers would be required to provide vehicles that have double fuel efficiency or risk facing serious penalties.
Pete Buttigieg, the Transportation Secretary, argued in a statement that more efficient vehicles will mean that Americans are saving on the gas pump. He added that it will also help improve energy security for the entire nation.
NHTSA and the Department of Transportation noted in the announcement that should the CAFE standards be finalized then consumers will be able to save over $50 billion on fuel during a vehicle’s lifetime while also reducing the need for gasoline and dropping gasoline consumption by 88 billion gallons through 2050.
