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US fuel consumption to average 4.3L/100km by 2025

The US Government and the country’s major automotive manufacturers have reached a compromise on the nation’s fuel consumption targets.


Set to be officially announced by US President Barack Obama on Friday, the new efficiency regulations will force US car makers to improve their corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) to 54.5mpg (4.3 litres/100km) by 2025.

The fuel economy level is relaxed slightly from the initial CAFE target of 56.2mpg (4.2 litres/100km) as car companies and workers unions resisted heavy reductions that will lead to considerable development expenses.

The new standards are a significant advancement from the current targets, which require manufacturers to achieve CAFE levels of 35.5mpg (6.3 litres/100km) by 2016.

According to The Wall Street Journal, General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Honda and Hyundai have all agreed to the new targets, and the rest of the nation’s manufacturer’s are expected to follow suit over the coming days.

The new standards will force an annual fuel economy improvement of five per cent for cars and 3.5 per cent for trucks and SUVs between 2017 and 2021. Between 2022 and 2025, all vehicles will be subjected to five per cent annual efficiency improvements.

The new CAFE standard effectively means most new vehicles sold in the US by 2025 will feature some form of electric operation, be it a conventional hybrid system, plug-in technology, full electric, or some other low-emissions operating system.

The full details of the targets will be revealed in the coming days when the standards are outlined in full.

Do you think similar standards should be introduced in Australia? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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