Fuel Economy Increases for Fourth Straight Year

The Environmental Protection Agency is reporting an increase in fuel efficiency, along with a corresponding decrease in average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for new cars and light duty trucks.

In an annual report just issued, “Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 through 2009,” EPA is including data for CO2 emissions for the first time.

For 2008, the last year for which EPA has final data from automakers, the average fuel economy was 21 miles per gallon (mpg). This positive trend began in 2005 and reversed a long period of decreasing fuel economy and increasing CO2 emissions from 1987 through 2004, as automakers successfully thwarted attempts to raise fuel efficiency requirements.

The report says, at 21 mpg, this returns CO2 emissions and fuel economy to levels of the early 1980s.

On September 15, of this year EPA proposed the first-ever light-duty vehicle greenhouse gas emissions standards under the Clean Air Act for model years 2012-2016. These proposed standards are part of a new, “harmonized” National Policy that also includes proposed corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for the same years by the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Since 1975, overall new light-duty vehicle CO2 emissions have moved through four phases:

1. A rapid decrease from 1975 through 1981;
2. A slower decrease until reaching a valley in 1987;
3. A gradual increase until 2004; and
4. A decrease for the four years beginning in 2005.

EPA also projects a small improvement in 2009, based on pre-model year sales estimates provided to EPA by automakers, to 21.1 mpg, although there is considerable uncertainty in the projection given the “turmoil” in the marketplace.

The mpg numbers used in the report are the adjusted ones (about 20% lower on average) reported to the public and are lower than another set of numbers that automakers use for meeting the DOT’s CAFE regulations.

The report also provides data on the CO2 emissions and technology characteristics of new light-duty vehicles including cars, minivans, sport utility vehicles, and pickup trucks. The latest emissions and economy values are EPA’s best estimates of real world CO2 emissions and fuel economy performance. They are consistent with the fuel economy estimates that EPA provides on new vehicle window stickers and in the Fuel Economy Guide.

“American drivers are increasingly looking for cars that burn cleaner, burn less gas and won’t burn a hole in their wallets,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.

“We’re working to help accelerate this trend with strong investments in clean energy technology – particularly for the cars and trucks that account for almost 60% greenhouse gases from transportation sources. Cleaner, more efficient vehicles can help reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil, cut harmful pollution, and save people money — and it’s clear that’s what the American car buyer wants,” Jackson claimed.

While EPA establishes vehicle CO2 emissions standards, NHTSA has the overall responsibility for the CAFE program.

For 2009, the CAFE standards are 27.5 mpg for cars and 23.1 mpg for light trucks (for light trucks, individual manufacturers can choose between the fixed, unreformed 23.1 mpg standard and a reformed vehicle footprint-based standard which yields different compliance levels for each manufacturer).

In March 2009, NHTSA promulgated new footprint-based CAFE standards for MY2011, for which NHTSA projected average industry-wide compliance levels of 30.2 mpg for cars (Including a 27.8 mpg alternative minimum standard for domestic cars for all manufacturers) and 24.1 mpg for light trucks.

EPA provides laboratory composite fuel economy data, along with alternative fuel vehicle credits and test procedure adjustments, to NHTSA for CAFE enforcement. Because of real world adjustments, alternative fuel vehicle credits, and test procedure adjustments, current NHTSA CAFE values are a minimum of 25% higher than EPA adjusted fuel economy values.

Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 Through 2009 – Executive Summary (EPA-420-S-09-001)