USA: Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards for Model Years 2024-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks

 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), on behalf of the Department of Transportation, has finalized revised fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks for model years (MYs) 2024-2025. They will increase at a rate of 8 percent per year, and then increase at a rate of 10 percent per year for MY 2026 vehicles.

NHTSA currently projects that the revised standards would require an industry fleet-wide average of roughly 49 mpg in MY 2026, and would reduce average fuel outlays over the lifetimes of affected vehicles that provide consumers hundreds of dollars in net savings.

The final rule fulfills NHTSA’s obligation to revisit the standards set forth in “The Safer Affordable Fuel Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks,” as directed by President Biden’s 20 January 2021, Executive order “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science To Tackle the Climate Crisis.”

The final rule addresses public comments to the notice of proposed rulemaking and also makes certain minor changes to fuel economy reporting requirements.  It will become effective on 1 July 2022.

The text of the final rule is available HERE.

NHTSA’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards regulate how far our vehicles must travel on a gallon of fuel. NHTSA sets CAFE standards for passenger cars and for light trucks (collectively, light-duty vehicles), and separately sets fuel consumption standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks and engines. NHTSA also regulates the fuel-economy window stickers on new vehicles.  To find out more, do not hesitate to contact the Institute for Global Automotive Regulatory Research.