New fuel economy rules, covering 2008 to the end of 2011, are being advised to the motor industry on Wednesday amid growing public concern about US dependence on foreign sources of oil and rising pump prices, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
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The report said the new rules represent the most significant changes to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy system in three decades and will affect automakers’ product ranges. They follow [former oilman] President Bush’s declaration that the US is “addicted to oil” and his call for a 75% reduction in Middle East oil imports by 75% by 2025.
However, The Associated Press noted that the new rules do not apply to passenger cars, which must meet a 27.5 mile per [US] gallon average.
AP said that, under the CAFE system, automakers now must meet an average of 21.6 mpg for their 2006 model year light trucks and that average will rise to 22.2 mpg for 2007 vehicles. Changes first proposed last summer would lead to a projected fleet-wide average of 24 mpg by 2011, though the final rules could require higher standards. Automakers probably would need to meet fuel economy targets based on their mix of vehicles.
The news agency noted that environmental groups have pressed for the higher standards and urged that the rules start applying to large trucks and sport utility vehicles such as the Hummer H2 and Chevrolet Suburban.
Environmentalists reportedly want the Bush administration to improve upon last summer’s proposal’s projected savings of 10 billion gallons of oil over the lifetime of the vehicles sold from 2008-11.
The administration said it would save more fuel than any previous rulemaking in the history of the light truck program, but the groups said it only amounted to a few weeks worth of oil consumption, AP said.
The report noted that the proposal from last summer also would phase out a single standard for light trucks and create different mileage goals for six categories of vehicles. Industry groups said the new plan may call for more specific fuel economy standards based on a vehicle’s dimensions.
The Associated Press added that automakers have noted that the final plan will likely mean seven straight years of higher fuel economy requirements for light trucks. The industry has fought previous attempts to raise the standards but have expressed support for the proposal’s direction.
US automakers such as General Motors and Ford have said the current system hurts them against the competition because sales of large SUVs must be offset by the sale of smaller light trucks to comply with fuel economy rules, the report said.
