BMW Calls CAFE plan ‘not feasible’
WASHINGTON — BMW of North America is calling on the Bush administration to create an alternative fuel economy program for companies that would be hardest hit by proposed new standards in the 2011-15 model years.
The alternative would allow a company such as BMW to comply by raising the fuel efficiency of its products by 4.5 percent a year over the standards in effect in 2010, the automaker says in comments submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The administration, responding to a new federal law, has proposed sliding scales of targets for cars and trucks of different sizes, measured by vehicle footprint, which is roughly the area bounded by four wheels.
Each automaker in effect would have its own unique standards to meet based on the mix of products of different sizes that it sells.
For BMW that would mean its cars would need to average 37.7 mpg in 2015, compared to the industry average of 35.7. Its trucks would need to average 31.7 mpg, compared to an industry average of 28.6, according to preliminary rules issued in April.
The car standard today is 27.5 mpg. The truck standard is rising gradually to 23.5 mpg by 2010.
BMW, in its official comments, posted in the government’s regulatory docket, said the administration proposal as written “is not feasible” for its products.
BMW’s comments are among the first from automakers to appear in the docket.
The deadline for comments is July 1.
The administration promises to have final rules adopted by the end of the year.
The 2011-15 rules would be the first major step toward implementing a new federal law requiring cars and trucks together to average at least 35 mpg by 2020 — about 40 percent higher than today.
via: AutoNews - subscription required