New EU Regulations Could Mandate 106mpg Fleet Average by 2025

The European Union parliament and United Nations are considering ways to make cars significantly more efficient within by 2025. The EU wants to have cars have average fuel economy of 106mpg UK (88.3mpg US) by 2025. The UN is proposing a new method of calculating fuel economy that would better reflect real world driving. 

The EU has already passed a law stipulating that average fleet fuel economy must fall to 95g/km of CO2 by 2020. Automakers producing fewer than 1,000 cars per year will be exempt from the new law. 

The World Light Duty Test Procedure fuel economy was designed by the UN and is under consideration by the EU. The test takes place over 30 minutes and has the car reaching progressively higher speeds, up to 130km/h, and coming to a complete stop seven times during the test. Cars during the test only maintain a constant speed for a few seconds at a time, which is meant as a better reflection of the way people actually drive.

The UN would like the test implemented by 2017 as the standard fuel economy test for cars around the world, but it will be subject to approval from each country. 

The result of these new procedures and laws could be much more expensive cars. Even the 95g/km of CO2 average will force lighter, cleaner cars that still meet safety regulations. 

Automakers are against these changes, but the EU is trying to placate them by allowing them to trade credits based on saved CO2. 

Source: Autocar