Congressional Panel Plans Hearing on Fuel Economy Rules

Next week the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing about the feasibility of U.S. fuel economy targets through 2025. Their goal is to determine the cost impact of the standard and whether it may force low-income consumers out of the new-car market.

Regulators have until 2018 to decide whether to sustain or modify second-phase standards that dictate a marketwide average fuel economy of 54.5 mpg by 2025.

Two months ago the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded carmakers have the technologies in hand to meet the standard at a reasonable cost. A survey of 23 suppliers by Calstart, a group that lobbies for greener transportation, found 70% in support of the current target.

But carmakers worry that the original calculations used assumptions about car sales that are no longer accurate.

They note that the 54.5-mpg goal assumes two-thirds of new passenger vehicles will be cars. In fact, more than half of such vehicles today are big trucks and SUVs—and the proportion of these less fuel efficient vehicles continues to rise. Using the original math, regulators estimate the countrywide new-car average will be closer to 50 mpg by 2025.