Should 54.5 MPG Stay or Go? CAFE Crams for Midterms

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

As regulatory bigwigs gear up for a midterm review of corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) requirements, will the 54.5 mpg target for light-duty vehicles get a haircut, or be deemed too unambitious?

Under a 2012 agreement between the federal government and automakers, cars and light trucks will have until 2025 to meet the 54.5 mpg target, which works out to about 40 mpg on the window sticker (for cars) after you ditch the fancy math. That target isn’t set in stone, and the midterm review will take into account the state of the market — and existing technology — when it reviews its goals for the 2022-2025 period.

The first step of the review is the creation of a draft Technical Assessment Report (TAR), issued by the Environmental Protection Agency, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and California Air Resources Board. That’s underway now, with the TAR due to be released for public comment this June.

A final determination and ruling will occur no later than April 1, 2018.

Even if the CAFE target is trimmed, automakers will face difficult decisions over how to achieve it. Fuel economy savings can be wrung out of a vehicle in many ways — electrification, weight-reducing measures, engine and transmission technology, computing and aerodynamics — but each measure comes with an added cost.

Ford Motor Company CEO Mark Fields has said he wants the review to deal in hard facts, calling the process “challenging.”

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne said last year that he expects “a relaxation of the timeline,” due to the drop in oil and gas prices.

Despite the willingness of automakers to produce vehicles that achieve CAFE targets, high-mileage vehicles often fail to resonate with buyers (and not just hybrid vehicles, which have seen sales sink in recent years).

Last year, a study by the Consumer Federation of America concluded that the 2025 target was doable, given recent advances by automakers.

[Sources: Automotive News, Wall Street Journal]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Danio3834 Danio3834 on Apr 18, 2016

    The targets should be relaxed. They can be met however at a lot of added cost, most of which is passed on to the consumer. Most people don't make this connection and simply assume the rising cost of vehicles is due to inflation or being screwed. Nevermind consumer preference.

  • ToddAtlasF1 ToddAtlasF1 on Apr 19, 2016

    Arguing against freedom should be fatal. Wealth without the backing of a powerful state is no danger. This country has failed to educate its most vulnerably stupid.

  • ToolGuy "Honey, someone is trying to cross the moat again"
  • Rochester "better than Vinfast" is a pretty low bar.
  • TheMrFreeze That new Ferrari looks nice but other than that, nothing.And VW having to put an air-cooled Beetle in its display to try and make the ID.Buzz look cool makes this classic VW owner sad 😢
  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
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