New vehicles in the U.S. must average 40 mpg by 2026, up from 28 mpg

Detroit – New vehicles sold in the United States will have to travel an average of at least 40 miles per gallon of gasoline by 2026, from about 28 mpg, according to new federal regulations introduced Friday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said its fuel-saving requirements will overturn a setback in the rules enacted under President Donald Trump. For the current model year, the standards enacted under Trump require the new vehicle fleet to reach just under 28 miles per gallon in actual driving. The new requirements increase gasoline consumption by 8% annually for the model years 2024 and 2025 and 10% in the model year 2026.

Agency officials say the requirements are the highest the industry can meet over a period of time and will reduce gasoline consumption by more than 220 billion gallons over the lifespan of vehicles, compared to industry standards. Trump.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose department includes the NHTSA, said the rules will also help strengthen national security by making the country less dependent on foreign oil and less vulnerable to volatile gasoline prices. Gasoline nationwide has risen to an average of more than $ 4.22 a gallon, with much of the increase since Russia, a major oil producer, invaded Ukraine in late February. It cost $ 2.88 a gallon just a year ago, according to AAA.

Gas prices have also helped fuel inflation for up to 40 years, consuming household budgets and hitting President Joe Biden’s approval ratings.

“Transportation is the second largest cost for American families, just behind housing,” Buttigieg said. The new standards, he said, will help keep the U.S. safer and preserve “our country’s freedom to chart its future without being subject to other countries and the decisions being made in the boardrooms of energy companies.” “.

But car dealers say stricter requirements drive up prices and drive people out of an already expensive new car market.

Undoing Trump’s setback

The Trump administration reversed fuel economy standards, allowing them to increase by 1.5% a year, which environmental groups said was inappropriate for limiting greenhouse gas emissions. the planet that fuels climate change. The standards had risen by about 5% a year previously.

But the new standards will not immediately coincide with those adopted until 2025 under President Barack Obama. NHTSA officials said they will match Obama’s standards by 2025 and slightly exceed them for the 2026 model year.

Obama-era standards automatically adjust to changes in the type of vehicles people buy. When enacted in 2012, 51% of new vehicle sales were cars and 49% were SUVs and trucks. Last year, 77% of new vehicle sales were SUVs and trucks, which are generally less efficient than cars.

Some environmental groups said the new NHTSA requirements under Biden did not go far enough to combat global warming. Others supported the new standards as a major step toward reducing emissions.

“Climate change has gotten a lot worse, but these rules only require carmakers to reduce their gas consumption a little more than they agreed to reduce nine years ago,” said Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Transportation Center. Center for Biological Diversity.

He said the final rule is about 2 mpg above the strongest alternative the NHTSA considered.

Savings for motorists

Officials said that under the new rules, homeowners would save about $ 1,400 in gasoline costs over the life of a 2029 model vehicle. Carbon dioxide emissions would fall by 2.5 billion tons. metrics by 2050, NHTSA said.

Automakers are investing billions of dollars to develop and build electric vehicles, but they say government support is needed to get people to buy them. Businesses want government tax credits to cut prices, as well as more money for electric vehicle charging stations to alleviate anxiety about running out of juice.

Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, said Friday that it will invest $ 35 billion in electric and hybrid vehicles and become carbon neutral in 2038.

“These goals are critical to a sustainable future and are more likely to be achieved with government support for a widespread electric vehicle charging network, incentives for the purchase of electric vehicles at the point of sale and incentives to expand the electric vehicle manufacturing in the US, “the company said in a statement.

The NHTSA sets fuel economy requirements, while the Environmental Protection Agency develops limits on greenhouse gas emissions. NHTSA officials said their requirements almost match the rules adopted by the EPA in December, so carmakers do not have to comply with two rules.