The federal government is looking to raise corporate average fuel economy requirements to something between 47 and 62 miles per gallon by 2025, according to documents released Friday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Currently these requirements, known as CAFE, call for an increase in fuel economy to an average of 34.1 mpg by 2016. The requirements proposed Friday are for the next round of fuel economy increases scheduled to begin in 2017. The government’s proposed 2025 goal would reflect annual increase of 3% to 6% per year from 2017 to 2025, according to a Notice of Intent issued by the agencies.
Not a done deal yet: The proposed fuel economy changes still need to go through various steps before the final rule that automakers must adhere to is announced on July 31, 2012.
The fuel economy figures used to calculate CAFE don’t reflect “real world” driving. According to the agencies, real fuel economy figures run about 20% lower than the CAFE numbers.
-CNN