The US Department of Energy (DOE) is set to announce final rules that will strengthen the rating standards onelectric vehicles’ (EVs) petroleum-equivalent fuel economy (PEF), which measures how many kilometers an EV can travel using the same amount of energy contained in one liter of gasoline, as reported by Reuters on March 19. According to people familiar with the matter, the final rules will gradually lower EVs’ PEF ratings by 65% through 2030, aiming to push automakers to sell more low-emissions cars. Nevertheless, the final rules are watered down compared to the DOE’s initial proposal in April 2023, which would have lowered the ratings of EVs by 72% in 2027. The softened rules make it easier for US automakers to meet government fuel economy requirements with additional time for adaptation.

When carmakers test gasoline-powered vehicles for compliance with the Transportation Department’s fuel-efficiency rules, they must submit the real values measured in a laboratory. In contrast, a DOE rule allowscarmakers to arbitrarily multiply the efficiency of electric cars by a factor of 6.67. The rule allows EVs to get exaggerated, sometimes unreasonably high, fuel economy ratings, which could bring automakers compliance credits worth billions. Moreover, these exaggerated ratings mean a small number of EVs could mathematically guarantee compliance, without making meaningful improvements in the real-world average fuel economy of the whole fleet. The revised rules are poised to address these issues and prevent automakers from facing substantial fines for failing to meet the stringent fuel economy requirements set out in the DOE’s initial proposal.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-finalize-revised-ev-mileage-rating-rule-win-automakers-sources-say-2024-03-18/

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/us-proposes-slash-ev-mileage-ratings-meet-fuel-economy-rules-2023-04-11/

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/electric-vehicles-a-numbers-game/