U.S. EPA and U.S. DOT Issue Final Rule Establishing New Federal Vehicle Standards

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have jointly issued a final rule that sets national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards. The rule will also significantly increase the fuel economy of new cars and trucks sold in the U.S. The new standards will apply to Model Year (MY) 2012 through 2016 passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty passenger vehicles. Starting with MY 2012, vehicle manufacturers will be required to improve fleet-wide fuel economy and reduce fleet-wide GHG emissions by approximately 5% each year. By 2016, vehicles must meet an estimated combined average emissions level not higher than 250 grams of carbon dioxide per mile, equivalent to 35.5 miles per gallon if the industry were to meet this carbon dioxide level solely through fuel economy improvements. The new standards allow manufacturers to build a single light-duty national fleet that satisfies all federal requirements as well as the vehicle emissions standards set by California and adopted by other states. For more information, see the Final Rule, EPA’s Regulations and Standards website and NHTSA’s CAFE website.