GM Backs Gradual Hike in Fuel Economy Rules

General Motors Co. claims the sharp increases in fuel economy currently required by federal rules—which would hike real-world averages to 36 mpg by 2025—are neither feasible nor practical.

The current Obama-era standards set an inferred fuel economy level of 41 mpg in 2021 that would then rise more than 4% annually to 50 mpg by the end of 2025.

GM says it would support a more gradual increase in the targets. It suggests a system based on a 38-year average improvement in real-world fuel economy of about 1 mpg. Average real-world fuel economy for new cars in the U.S. reached a record-high 24.7 mpg in 2016 (the most recent results available), according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The carmaker’s comments were submitted on Friday regarding the Trump administration’s plan to freeze fuel economy levels in 2021. The current schedule would require a real-world average of 31 mpg by that year.

GM also urges the White House to expand the federal tax credit of $7,500 available to purchasers of all-electric vehicles. The program currently phases out when a given manufacturer sells a cumulative 200,000 EVs