This week the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards have popped up in a few posts. One dealt with the increase in fuel economy for passenger cars and the other for heavy trucks and buses. The following facts come from these articles:
- American businesses who operate and own these commercial vehicles will save approximately $50 billion in fuel costs over the life of the program.
- The cost savings for American businesses are on top of the $1.7 trillion that American families will save at the pump from the fuel-efficiency standards announced by the Obama Administration’s for cars and light duty trucks, including the model year 2017-2025 agreement announced by the President last month.
- Under the comprehensive new national program, trucks and buses built in 2014 through 2018 will reduce oil consumption by a projected 530 million barrels and greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by approximately 270 million metric tons.
- A semi-truck operator could pay for the technology upgrades in under a year and realize net savings of $73,000 through reduced fuel costs over the truck’s lifetime. These cost saving standards will also reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants like particulate matter, which can lead to asthma, heart attacks and premature death.
- New CAFE Standards would require automakers to reach a fleet-wide average of 54.5 miles per gallon (MPG) by 2025. The new rules roughly double the current requirement for passenger cars from the current 27.5 MPG.
The first four figures come directly from the White House press release; the latter from Wednesday’s post.
Image source: Metropolitan Museum of Art
