On Aug. 2, the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a joint notice of a prosposed rulemaking the “Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks” (SAFE Vehicles Rule), which would amend certain existing Corporate Average Fuel Economy and tailpipe carbon dioxide emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks and establish new standards. The standards would cover vehicle model years 2021 through 2026. 

In 2012, the Obama administration issued a final rule that requires light duty vehicle CAFE standards to be raised and greenhouse gas emissions to be lowered each year for MY 2017 through 2025. Under the Trump administration, the EPA issued its Mid-Term Evaluation Final Determination, which states that greenhouse gas standards set in the 2012 final rule are not appropriate and should be revised.

According to the NHTSA website, the SAFE Vehicles Rule would save more than $500 billion in societal costs and reduce highway fatalities by 12,700 lives over the life span of all vehicles built through MY 2029. 

NHTSA and EPA are allowing the public to submit comments on the NPRM up to 60 days after the proposal is published in the Federal Register.