The U.S. Environmental Protection agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are inching closer to unveiling a proposed rule targeting emissions and fuel economy for medium- and heavy-duty trucks beyond model year 2018. Exactly what the proposed rule will say has not been released, but one report says it will require trucks to average 9 mpg by 2027 while adding up to $14,000 to the sticker price of the vehicle.
The New York Times claims to know what the EPA/NHTSA proposal on greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy standards for heavy trucks looks like, even though the proposal does not yet appear in the Federal Register. An official notice could be just days away, according to the report.
Current fuel economy averages for long-haul truckers are in the neighborhood of 5.5 to 6 mpg. A final rule published by EPA/NHTSA in 2011 established the first-ever standards for fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions for medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and it targeted a 20 percent savings during a period lasting 2014 through 2018.
