Bush administration to boost fuel economy standards for trucks

Washington (Platts)--29Mar2006

US President George W. Bush's administration will tell auto makers later
Wednesday that they need to increase the average fuel economy for light
trucks, a category that includes pickups, minivans and some sports utility
vehicles, the Department of Transportation said.

The proposal, first unveiled in September, is expected to be formalized
and announced Wednesday in Baltimore by Transportation Secretary Norm Mineta.

The proposal unveiled in September, which the DOT said could save between
5.4 and 10 billion gallons of fuel over the lifetime of the vehicle compared
with current standards, called for a complete revamp of the method for
calculating fuel economy compliance by dividing light trucks into six separate
categories determined by size, with smaller vehicles required to achieve
better fuel economy.

Within those categories, fuel economy standards would range from 20.4
miles per gallon to 26.8 mpg, beginning in 2008, rising to a range of 21.3 to
21.3 mpg by 2011.

Auto makers are currently required to maintain a fleet average of 27.5
mpg for passenger cars and 21 mpg for light trucks. The standard for light
trucks has already been lifted once during Bush's first term, with a
requirement that the fleet average be raised to 21.6 mpg for model year 2006
and to 22.2 mpg for model year 2007.

The new rules follow Bush's declaration in January that the US is
"addicted to oil." The president at that time called for a 75% reduction in
oil imports from the Middle East by 2025.

--Cathy Landry, cathy_landry@platts.com

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