EPA to keep strict gas mileage standards in place

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EPA to keep strict gas mileage standards in place

Automakers, at least for now, will still have to meet strict fuel economy requirements.

Tom Krisher And Dee-Ann Durbin, The Associated Press on December 2, 2016

The Obama administration has decided not to change government fuel economy requirements for cars and light trucks despite protests from automakers.

The decision means that automakers, at least for now, will still have to meet strict fuel economy requirements and that companies likely will continue building small cars and electric vehicles still even though people are buying more SUVs and trucks.

The standards had required the fleet of new cars to average 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. But there was a built-in reduction if buying habits changed, dropping the number to 50.8. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy said in a statement that based on the agency’s technical analysis, automakers can meet emissions standards and mileage requirements through 2025.

The standards will increase the new-vehicle fleet’s average gas mileage requirement from 34.1 mpg this year. That will dramatically cut carbon pollution and save U.S. drivers billions in gas costs, the EPA said in a statement Wednesday.

“Although EPA’s technical analysis indicates that the standards could be strengthened for model years 2022-2025, proposing to leave the current standards in place provides greater certainty to the auto industry for product planning and engineering,” McCarthy said in the statement.

The EPA will take public comments on the decision until Dec. 30, then McCarthy will make a final decision, a rare speedy move for a government agency. The quick approval means the decision would become final before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated in January, even though a final decision wasn’t required until April 2018. The EPA denied that the rushed timetable was due to Trump’s election.

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EPA to keep strict gas mileage standards in place