The US Transportation Department today will propose a sweeping increase in fuel economy standards, requiring passenger cars to average 35.7 miles per gallon and light trucks 28.6 mpg by 2015, The Detroit News has learned.
The proposal sets a more aggressive timetable than what Congress required when it passed an energy bill in December that calls for an industry fleet average of 35 mpg by 2020 for cars and trucks combined.
The proposed regulation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will cost the auto industry an estimated $47 billion to meet the requirements through 2015, a person familiar with the announcement said.
The overall fleet of new passenger cars and light trucks will have to average 31.8 mpg by 2015 -- an annual increase of 4.6 percent per year and above the 4 percent figure Congress required. That compares to the fleet's overall average of 26.7 mpg in the 2007 model year.
The proposal is the first regulatory step on the road to an overall fleet average of at least 35 mpg by 2020 and achieves more than half of that target. The Bush administration hopes to make the proposal final before the next president takes office.
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