Automaker trade groups informed U.S. regulators they need to revise fuel efficiency mandates authorized in the final weeks of the Obama administration as the costs would be difficult and the standards do not reflect how low-cost gas prices are impacting consumer demand, but they stopped short of requesting for a particular reduction in the requirements for 2025.
The comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) established the next round in a fight between automakers and the state of California and environmental groups, which refute any retreat from limits to greenhouse gas emissions.
Automakers seek modifications that would make it simpler for them to adhere to fuel economy standards, consisting of flexibility in the use of a system of credits under the program.
Automakers have to satisfy parallel fuel economy standards managed by the NHTSA and automobile emissions limits controlled by the EPA.
President Donald Trump has promoted deregulation, saying it is needed to promote financial growth. In March he informed auto workers, “We are going to ensure that any regulations we have secure and defend your jobs, your factories.”
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group representing General Motors, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen and others, stated the EPA downplayed the expenses of technologies needed to meet the 2025 requirements.
The Obama administration settled rules in 2012 to double the fleetwide average fuel economy to 54.5 mpg by 2025, however the EPA revised it to 51.4 mpg based upon an increasing number of trucks. The EPA stated that would lead to a real world average of 36 mpg by 2025, as credits automakers receive and distinctions in test procedures versus real-world driving.
Automakers achieve credits by producing cars that surpass the requirements in a given year– and can then use credits to deficits in future years. They also achieve credits for air conditioning improvements, developing electric automobiles and other enhancements that may not be recorded in testing procedures.
