U.S. Legislative Issues

As part of the Administration’s Climate Action Plan, President Obama issued a directive to the agencies in early 2014 to develop Phase 2 standards to shape medium- and heavy-duty powertrain design and emission performance through the next decade.

Throughout the rulemaking, NAFA repeatedly voiced its commitment to improving vehicle efficiency and reducing emissions, while also stressing that the proposed Phase 2 standards must be affordable, must not compromise performance, and must recognize the diverse needs of companies and agencies that depend on vocational vehicles and heavy-duty vehicles.

On August 16, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) unveiled the final standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles intended to improve fuel efficiency and cut carbon pollution. The Phase 2 standards apply to vocational vehicles and work trucks, heavy-duty pickup trucks, and combination tractors.  

NAFA is sharply critical of the final standards and believes the final Phase 2 standards will force fleets to purchase technologies that are not thoroughly tested and ready for marketplace introduction, which increases costs, inefficiencies, and uncertainties to the transport segment, and could nullify the proposed intentions of reducing vehicle emissions.   

In a statement, NAFA’s Chief Executive Officer Phillip E. Russo, CAE, said, "The parameters of the Phase 2 rules do not take into account the realities of fleet operations. The federal government has over-estimated the impact of the new standards by assuming a more robust and fuller adoption of the standards by fleets over a shorter period of time.  The fact is that fleets will face increased costs for vehicles and maintenance associated with new technologies." (NAFA's official statement, released to the media, is included in this issue of NAFAConnection.)



The "One National Program" (ONP) was launched by the federal government in 2009 to avoid piecemeal, fragmented automotive policy that was inefficient and raised costs to consumers. ONP was intended to develop regulations consistent with the long-range product cycles – typically 5-10 years – in the auto industry. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) and greenhouse gas (GHG) rulemakings were jointly developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as a partner.

The joint nature of this program was intended to allow industry to comply with the most optimistic targets in the most efficient manner. The rules were proposed in two pieces. The first set of rules covered Model Years 2012-2016. The second set of rules covers 2017-2025. To solidify buy-in from automakers, the Administration agreed to a midterm evaluation (MTE) to re-evaluate the economic and technological feasibility of meeting or exceeding the fuel efficiency standards for passenger cars and light trucks. The EPA, in partnership with NHTSA and CARB were tasked with conducting the MTE.
 
On July 18, 2016, EPA, NHTSA, and CARB jointly issued their Draft Technical Assessment Report (TAR) as part of the MTE process for public comment. Public input on the Draft TAR, along with new data and information, will inform EPA’s decision to adjust miles-per-gallon and greenhouse gas targets for 2022-2025. Exceeding 1,200 pages, the report contains over 1,000 references, five computer models, and more than 10,000 model runs.

On August 18, NAFA was invited to participate in an automobile industry stakeholders briefing regarding the recently released TAR report of the fuel economy standards for autos and light trucks. The meeting was sponsored by the Auto Alliance, an association of 12 of the largest car manufacturers and the leading advocacy group for the auto industry.

The top concern raised by meeting participants was the need for more time to review, analyze, and ultimately comment on the report. Unfortunately, official requests to extend the comment period by 60 days have been denied. Based on early analysis, however, a majority of the stakeholders took issue over the report’s assumptions that automakers will be able to rapidly innovate to meet the standards while maintaining record sales. The Auto Alliance was particularly concerned that the agencies were being overly optimistic in their assessment of the benefits gained by existing technologies, that the report underestimates the cost of adopting the new technologies needed to make the targets, and that the agencies are relying on the assumption that future improvements on today’s best technologies can be broadly applied across the entire light-duty fleet in less than eight years.

The Auto Alliance urged all stakeholders to submit public comments, adding that NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind recently weighed in on the matter by saying that "silence is assent." Public comments on the report will be accepted through September 26, 2016. EPA will release its final determination no later than April 1, 2018.



On August 26, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a proposal to require heavy-duty vehicles like trucks and buses to include speed limiting devices. If approved, the proposal would establish safety standards requiring all newly manufactured U.S. trucks, buses, and multipurpose passenger vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 26,000 pounds to come equipped with speed limiting devices. The proposal discusses the benefits of setting the maximum speed at 60, 65, and 68 miles per hour, but the Agencies will consider other speeds based on public input.

Motor carriers operating commercial vehicles in interstate commerce would be responsible for maintaining the speed limiting devices at or below the designated speed for the service life of the vehicle under the proposal.

The proposal is being touted by the agencies as an important step toward fighting the rise in traffic fatalities across the country, as well as a key ingredient in lowering CO2 emissions. "In addition to saving lives, the projected fuel and emissions savings make this proposal a win for safety, energy conservation, and our environment," DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement.