Fuel Efficiency Standards in United States on the Rise

The Environmental Protection Agency released a new report Wednesday that shows that US light-duty vehicles are achieving better fuel efficiency than in the past. The report shows that cars, minivans, light-duty trucks and sport utility vehicles are getting a combined average of 20.2 miles per gallon for the model years 2005 and 2006; however, the EPA acknowledges that the improved fuel economy may be in part due to better testing methods and the fact that trucks are a smaller percentage of the overall US fleet.

The annual report, "Light-Duty Automotive Technology and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 through 2007" has confirmed that the mile per gallon (mpg) average has increased in the past two model years, with an increase of 0.9 mpg over the 2004 level. This increase reverses the declining mpg levels, that reached a peak all the way back in 1987. This increase is also the first-time that there has been improved fuel efficiency in consecutive model years since the mid-1980's.
The EPA's report does mention that the testing standards are based on a composite of both highway and city driving, as well as adjusted for increased highway speed limits, more aggressive driving practices, and increases in the use of air conditioning in vehicles. The EPA report states that the new adjusted "real-world fuel economy methodology" has been applied to all years starting with 1986. The average change in fuel economy with the new adjustments is a decrease in 6% from the levels as determined by the previous methodology used by the EPA. For example, the previous mpg value for the peak year of 1987 was 22.0 mpg, and with the new methodology the new number is 25.9 mpg.

EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson commends the increase in fuel efficiency in a press release: "America's drivers want the biggest bang for their fuel buck, so this report is great news for both out wallets and our environment. Automakers are answering President Bush's call to improve fuel economy and decrease our nation's dependency on foreign oil."

Though the report is good news on the surface, the level of fuel efficiency is still lower than the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards which are set at 27.5 mpg for cars and 22.2 mpg for light-trucks in 2007. In fact, the average of 20.2 mpg that Johnson applauds is still 25% lower than the CAFÉ standards, which are still lower than other developed countries.

Light-duty vehicles account for nearly 40% of all US oil consumption, and this accounts for about 20% of all US carbon dioxide emissions.

Source: Environmental Protection Agency