The US Department of Transportation is taking public feedback this summer and fall on several possible new standards that would apply as soon as model year 2027 for passenger cars, pickups and work vans. A nearly 700-page document outlined the potential options, including the administration’s proposal for increasing car fuel efficiency standards annually by 2% for cars and 4% for light trucks. A 10% annual increase would apply to some work vehicles.
standards, for car and light duty fuel economy to 58 mpg on average by 2032, though that’s not what consumers will see when driving or when shopping for cars. The Environmental Protection Agency, which calculates the fuel economy estimates shown on vehicle window stickers, uses different tests that result in more realistic estimates. Chris Harto, a senior policy analyst for Consumer Reports, told CNN that this standard would increase the real-world fuel economy to around 43 mpg on average.
standards are a tension point between Democratic and Republican administrations. Soon after taking office, the Trump administration re-wrote the more stringent Obama administration’s proposal. The Biden administration already put in place its own version last year.