The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have released the final Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule setting corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) and CO2 emissions standards for model years 2021-2026 passenger cars and light trucks.
The final rule will increase the stringency of CAFE and CO2 emissions standards by 1.5% each year through model-year 2026, as compared with the standards issued in 2012, which would have required about 5% annual increases. This is a change from the proposal issued in 2018. The majority of automakers are not meeting the 2012 standard without resorting to the use of credits.