The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced Friday that it had developed new, landmark fuel economy standards.
The new standards would require an industry-wide fleet average of approximately 49 mpg for passenger cars and light trucks in model year 2026. The NHTSA said that the new standards would save consumers money and advance the country’s energy independence.
“Today’s rule means that American families will be able to drive further before they have to fill up, saving hundreds of dollars per year,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “These improvements will also make our country less vulnerable to global shifts in the price of oil and protect communities by reducing carbon emissions by 2.5 billion metric tons.”
The new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) standards, the agency said, would increase fuel efficiency by 8 percent annually for model years 2024 and 2025 and by 10 percent for model year 2026. The standards will also increase the fleetwide average by 10 miles per gallon for model year 2026, compared to 2021. Americans purchasing new vehicles in 2026 will get 33 percent more miles per gallon than they did when purchasing new vehicles in 2021.
Since being signed into law in 1975, the CAFÉ standards have reduced American oil consumption by 25 percent, the equivalent of 5 million barrels a day since then. The new CAFÉ standards are estimated to reduce fuel use by more than 200 billion gallons through 2050 compared to the old standards.
The agency said the new standards would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, improve public health, and afford environmental justice for communities, traditionally low-income and communities of color, located near freeways and other heavily trafficked roadways.