Stricter fuel economy standards for vehicles are expected to be laid out by the Biden administration on Friday, reversing the previous administration’s decision to roll back U.S. regulations aimed at increasing gas mileage and reducing emissions, officials said.
Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Deputy Administrator Steven Cliff will make the announcement on Friday, as per the Transportation Department.
According to a report, back in August, NHTSA suggested increasing Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards by 8% per year for the 2024-2026 model years. NHTSA stated that the proposed rules could reduce fuel prices for consumers by $140 billion for new vehicles that are sold by 2030 as well as $470 billion in 2050. It also plans to raise the fleetwide average by 12 mpg in 2026, compared to 2021.
U.S. law requires an 18-month lead time, which means that the final NHTSA regulations must be signed before March 31st to be implemented in the 2024 model year, which starts in September 2023.
Biden’s administration requested Monday in its budget proposal to Congress to provide $27.5 million to fund an upcoming phase of NHTSA fuel economy regulations “for light vehicles and maximum fuel efficiency standards for medium and heavy-duty trucks and represents meaningful progress toward achieving the administration’s climate agenda.”
NHTSA, in a statement on Sunday, said that it had reinstituted an increase in fines for automakers whose cars are not in compliance with standards for fuel efficiency for the 2019 models and beyond.
This story originally appeared on Automotive News.