Department of Transportation Proposes More Robust Fuel Economy Standards

By Ben Wolowski, Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP

The US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently announced that it will soon propose new, more stringent fuel economy standards for automobiles. NHTSA will propose an increase in fuel efficiency of eight percent annually for model years 2024 through 2026 and will propose increasing the fleet-wide average by 12 miles per gallon for model year 2026, as compared to the current standard. 

Several auto manufacturers are already producing electric models, and many more have recently announced plans to produce new electric models over the next several years. But gasoline will continue to power the majority of cars in the United States for many years to come. NHTSA estimates that its new proposed fuel economy standards will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.8 billion tons over the next three decades, and the total benefits are expected to save more than $132 billion. 

Pursuant to new executive order signed by President Biden on August 5, NHTSA will continue to develop fuel economy standards for passenger cars and light duty trucks for model years 2027-2030, as well as new standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles for model year 2027 onward. 

To read the NHTSA’s full press release, go here.

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