WASHINGTON The U.S. Department of Transportation on Tuesday announced that it wants to require automakers to achieve an average 31.6 miles per gallon by 2015 for the cars and trucks they sell in the U.S. a move that will cost the industry $47 billion over a five-year period.
The proposal will save nearly 55 billion gallons of fuel and result in a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions estimated at 521 million metric tons, said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters. Meeting the objective would require 4.5 percent annual improvements in fuel efficiency or a 25 percent improvement between 2011 and 2015.
Under the new rules, cars must achieve fuel economy of 35.7 mpg by 2015, up from the current 27.5-mpg standard. Light trucks must improve mileage to 28.6 mpg, up from 22.5 mpg now.
Peters, who noted that she arrived at the press conference in a Saturn Aura hybrid, called the proposal "historically ambitious, yet achievable." The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the lobbying arm of the U.S. auto industry, issued a statement calling the fuel economy proposal "tough" and a "challenge." It added, "We have a responsibility to increase fuel economy and limit greenhouse gas emissions from new automobiles."
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