The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have proposed that 19.29 kmpl would be the combined mileage of all the vehicles manufactured in the country, by 2025.
The need for better fuel economy cars has emerged due to the considerable rise in the gas prices over the years. During August this year, the International Council of Clean Transportation (ICCT) reported that United States has worst fuel economy vehicles when compared with other car making countries.
According to reports from the Council, the combined passenger and light commercial vehicles fuel economy is only around 10.02 kmpl. This fuel economy offered by American vehicles is lesser in comparison to cars manufactured in Europe and Japan, which respectively have 15.97 kmpl and 15.47 kmpl mileage.
It is important to note that the expected fuel economy standard of vehicles is not proposed for a single vehicle; rather it signifies average mileage of all the cars in a manufacturer’s fleet. Dr. Larry Caretto, a mechanical engineering professor at California State University, believes that the car makers will have to compromise a lot while building fuel efficient cars for America.
According to Caretto, “There’s always a tradeoff. There’s fuel economy and then there’s cost. You get more fuel economy because of all this new technology and the new vehicle cost becomes higher. Although, if gasoline keeps staying around $4 a gallon maybe it will be worth the investment.”
Many of the car manufacturers in America have accepted and started working towards developing fuel efficient vehicles; however, many auto brands like Volkswagen have expressed opposition. A press release by Volkswagen back in July said that although the company completely supports building fuel efficient cars, but it is against the high expectation of delivering fuel economy of 19.29 kmpl.
From consumer’s point of view, the new standard proposed for fuel efficiency in passenger vehicles is expected to be quite advantageous. According to a report by the EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car users will be able to save up to $ 4,400 during a vehicle's lifetime with the proposed fuel economy.
Consumers will benefit to a large extent if the proposed fuel economy is achieved by the automobile manufacturers in America.
