Last Updated: September 28. 2011 12:37PM
Feds delay 2025 fuel efficiency proposal until November
David Shepardson/ Detroit News Washington Bureau
The Obama administration says it will not meet its self-imposed deadline to unveil a proposed doubling of fuel efficiency standards to 54.5 mpg by 2025 — and will instead unveil the proposal in mid-November.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it will not meet a deadline set for releasing the proposal by the end of this month. Earlier this year, NHTSA and the Environmental Protection Agency said they would roll out their proposal in tandem with California, which has been considering its own state proposal.
Under the terms of a deal struck with 13 major automakers — including Detroit's Big Three, Toyota Motor Corp., BMW AG and others — California will agree not to seek to impose its own state standards.
"Given the historic nature of this joint rule between EPA and DOT, as well as the necessary coordination with California, it was recently determined that additional time was needed and we expect to issue a proposal for MY 2017-2025 vehicles by mid-November," NHTSA spokeswoman Lynda Tran said.
NHTSA and EPA have previously said they will finalize the rules by July — but that could also be pushed back.
"We are working to complete these historic fuel economy and greenhouse gas pollution reduction standards which will save consumers money, help protect the air we breathe and strengthen our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil," Tran said.
In July, President Barack Obama heralded the deal cut between his administration and major automakers, saying it will save consumers $1.7 trillion over the lifetime of those vehicles.
In announcing the pact in July, Obama was joined by the 13 automakers.
On a conference call with reporters in July, administration officials said cars would have to average 62 mpg by 2025 and light trucks 44 mpg, in order to make the government's fleetwide demand of 54.5 mpg.
The final figure isn't clear; the EPA said in real-world driving, consumers should average 39 mpg.
The agreement gives hefty incentives to full-size pickups to become mild or full hybrids, along with incentives for fuel cell vehicles and electric vehicles. But it offers no new incentives for diesel vehicles — much to the dismay of European automakers.
Administration officials have offered no estimate on the plan's costs to automakers or consumers, nor the impact on jobs or auto sales. Previously, the administration said more aggressive requirements, higher than the 54.5 mpg compromise reached by the government and automakers, could cost $2,100 per vehicle by 2025.
Automakers cited a study by the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor that similar rules could be as much as $150 billion — but some environmentalists have sharply disputed that.
The White House said the pact will save consumers more than $8,000 per vehicle in fuel by 2025. It will spare an estimated 12 billion barrels of oil.
Margo Oge, director of the Environmental Protection Agency's office of transportation and air quality, said in an interview in July that the higher vehicle costs, to cover the development and manufacture of more efficient vehicles, would be "pretty reasonable."
Talks centered on assurances that California will abide by the results of a mid-term review that is intended to ensure that requirements in the last four years of the deal are achievable.
The final issue dealt gave automakers the opportunity to sue if California attempts to enact its own tougher rules, if the federal government opts to lower the requirements in the final years.
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has sent letters to the White House and major automakers, questioning the pact.
Issa said in his three-page letter to automakers in July that the deal appears "to have been negotiated in secret, outside the scope of law, with potentially significant negative impacts for consumers."
dshepardson@detnews.com
(202) 662-8735
From The Detroit News:
http://detnews.com/article/20110928/AUTO01/109280391/Feds-delay-2025-fuel-efficiency-proposal-until-November#ixzz1a9sOUMoR
