CAFE standards regulate fuel efficiency for cars and light trucks in the US, set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Initially aimed at reducing oil imports, they now also reduce pollution and greenhouse gases. Early standards required 18 mpg, increasing to 27.5 mpg by 1990, and new standards aim for a fleet average of 34 mpg by 2016. Automakers must meet the standards or face fines. Progress has been slower than expected, and regulation of greenhouse gases was added in 2010 due to a Supreme Court case.
In the United States, the CAFE standards are a set of regulations governing fuel efficiency for vehicles in the car and light truck categories. CAFE stands for enterprise average fuel economy and requires manufacturers to meet efficiency averages for their fleet of such cars. CAFE standards are set by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The regulations were initially intended to reduce the national need for oil, much of which is imported from foreign countries. They have also become a way to reduce pollution and curb emissions of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide.
Early CAFE standards required manufacturers to achieve a fleet-wide average of 18 miles per gallon (mpg). This had increased to 27.5 mpg in 1990 and remained unchanged through 2010. In 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and NHTSA announced new standards that would achieve a fleet average of approximately 34 mpg by 2016. In that year, cars would need to achieve about 39 mpg and light trucks about 29 mpg. Credits have also been announced for vehicles that run on ethanol, as well as electric and hybrid vehicles.
The standards are based on each automaker’s fleet or all car and light truck models combined, and are also weighted by sales. The EPA tests the fuel economy of vehicles themselves or receives results from manufacturers. Goals can be achieved in different ways due to weighted sales and various credits. While a company’s average fuel economy may not meet the averages for its fleet, it can still meet the standards by selling a high volume of its most efficient models. Fines are imposed on automakers that fail to meet CAFE standards.
CAFE standards first went into effect in 1975 as part of the Energy Conservation Act. Critics have pointed out that progress in fuel economy has been slower than originally anticipated. In 2010, the EPA and NHTSA announced that regulation of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases would be included in future releases.
In the United States, CAFE standards are often a political issue that appears regularly in campaign seasons. They are also a talking point in response to oil and gas price spikes. The decision to regulate greenhouse gases is due less to voter concern than the Supreme Court case Massachusetts v. EPA. This case forced the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.
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