EPA’s lower fuel efficiency standard won’t compel automakers or suppliers to change course.
Despite a move by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to freeze automotive fuel efficiency standards, automakers and their suppliers are likely to continue down the existing path toward electrification, experts said.
There are two big reasons for automakers to stay the course, they stated. First, the global market will push them toward electrification, no matter what the EPA does. Second, a lengthy court battle between the EPA and the state of California is imminent, and automakers are unlikely to change their plans until they know the legal outcome.
“There’s going to be a long, drawn-out battle, and it will probably go all the way to the Supreme Court,” Sam Abuelsamid, senior analyst for Navigant Research, told Design News. “And there’s no guarantee which way the court will rule.” The legal battle could rage on for two or three more years, Abuelsamid added.
The fuel efficiency issue came to a head last Thursday, when the US EPA announced that gas mileage rules for 2020 would be locked into place until 2026. If the move remains intact, it would eliminate the earlier federal target of 54.5 mpg by 2025. Instead of 54.5, automakers would now work toward a Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) of 41.7 mpg (which translates to window sticker value of about 37 mpg).
Leave a Reply