The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have established fuel-efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) standards for work trucks, buses and other medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The first-time standards begin in model-year ’14 and cover a diverse range of vehicle types and uses. The vehicles are divided into three major categories: combination tractors (semi-trucks), heavy-duty pickups and vans and vocational vehicles (e.g. delivery trucks and transit buses). There are additional subcategories, which are intended to provide a flexible structure for achieving specific goals.

The fuel-efficiency standards will also be intended to reduce CO2 emissions, since carbon dioxide is a direct byproduct when carbon-based fuels are burned. In general, the standards are expected to achieve 10%–20% savings in fuel consumption by model-year ’18. Between 2014 and 2018, the reductions are projected to save 530 million barrels of oil and reduce CO2 emissions by 270 million metric tons. 

For more information, contact Stuart Gosswein at stuartg@sema.org.