US proposes increasing mileage norms for ICE vehicles

The US has proposed increasing fuel economy norms for automakers as part of the government's efforts to reduce fuel use and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The proposal, announced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), would require companies to offer a fleet-wide average of 58 miles per gallon, or just above 8 km per litre, by 2032.

Last year, the agency finalized rules for the 2024-2026 interval that required companies to offer a fleet average of 49 mpg (7 kmpl) by 2026.

The agency said its new norms would save consumers more than $50 billion on fuel over the vehicles' lifetimes, reduce the country's fuel consumption till 2050 by over 88 billion gallons, and prevent more than 900 million tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Overall, the combined benefits of the proposal would exceed costs by more than $18 billion, the agency estimate.

US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement: "Better vehicle fuel efficiency means more money in Americans' pockets and stronger energy security for the entire nation."

Last month, America increased the amount of biofuels that oil companies are required to blend into their fuels.

The US Environmental Protection Agency announced biofuel blending volumes at 20.94 billion gallons in 2023, rising to 21.54 billion gallons in 2024 and touching 22.33 billion gallons in 2025. The agency said this would reduce America's reliance on foreign oil by 130,000-140,000 barrels per day over the three-year period.