Aggressive Targets Proposed for CAFÉ Increases

Last December, Congress passed and President Bush signed into law an Energy Bill that included the first mandated increase in the corporate average fuel economy (CAFÉ) program since it began in 1975. The car standard of 27.5 miles per gallon has been unchanged since 1990 and the truck standard, at 22.5 miles per gallon, is up slightly more than 10 percent since 1992.  The Bill contained a congressionally mandated 40 percent increase in fuel economy standards by 2020.

In Rules proposed recently, the Administration is asking auto manufacturers to achieve a 25 percent improvement in fuel economy during the 2011-15 model years.  The result would be cars that must average 35.7 miles per gallon and light trucks that must average 28.6 miles per gallon, for a combined 31.6 miles per gallon by 2015. Department of Transportation Secretary Mary Peters called the proposal " an aggressive but achievable standard." She also indicated that it was the Department's goal to complete the new Rules by year-end.