DOT Sets New Light-Truck Fuel Economy Rules
ew fuel economy standards unveiled Wednesday for light trucks will save 10.7 billions of gallons of fuel and include the largest sport utility vehicles for the first time, the Department of Transportation said.
The new fuel economy standards strengthen the miles-per-gallon target for light trucks, boosting it from the current 21.6 to 24 mpg by 2011, an 11% reduction, DOT said.
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta announced the updated regulations Wednesday in Baltimore. He said more was being asked of automakers because they now have to factor in 240,000 of the least efficient SUVs for the first time.
The changes mark the second time the Bush administration has raised mileage standards for light trucks and the first complete reform of the corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE, program for pickup trucks, SUVs and minivans, Mineta said.
“We examined new technology that is in use or under development — like hybrids and the latest generation of diesel-burning engines — and decided that we could ask more of the manufacturers than we proposed last August,” he said.
Mineta added that the new standards mean that some light trucks will have to meet a fuel economy target of 28.4 mpg, higher than the current standard for passenger cars.
