The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation today announced the first national standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks and buses.


EPA and DOT's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are proposing new standards for three categories of heavy trucks: combination tractors, heavy-duty pickups and vans, and vocational vehicles. The categories were established to address specific challenges for manufacturers in each area.

For combination tractors, the agencies are proposing engine and vehicle standards that begin in the 2014 model year and achieve up to a 20 percent reduction in CO2 emissions and fuel consumption by 2018 model year.

For heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, the agencies are proposing separate gasoline and diesel truck standards which phase in starting in the 2014 model year and achieve up to a 10 percent reduction for gasoline vehicles and 15 percent reduction for diesel vehicles by 2018 model year (12 and 17 percent respectively if accounting for air conditioning leakage).

Lastly, for vocational vehicles, the agencies are proposing engine and vehicle standards starting in the 2014 model year which would achieve up to a 10 percent reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 2018 model year.

The program is projected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 250 million metric tons and save 500 million barrels of oil over the lives of the vehicles produced within the program's first five years, according to the agencies.

With the potential for significant fuel efficiency gains, ranging from 7 percent to 20 percent, the agencies predict truck operators could expect to net significant savings over the long-term. For example, it is estimated an operator of a semi truck could pay for the technology upgrades in under a year, and save as much as $74,000 over the truck's useful life. Vehicles with lower annual miles would typically experience longer payback periods, up to four or five years, but would still reap cost savings.

Watch for more details on Truckinginfo.com as our editors pore through the 673-page proposal.

EPA and NHTSA are providing a 60-day comment period that begins when the proposal is published in the Federal Register. The proposal and information about how to submit comments is at www.nhtsa.gov/fuel-economy.


Read more on Truckinginfo for background about the fuel economy standards:

"Obama Signs Policy Calling for Truck Fuel Economy Standards," 5/21/2010

"Industry Applauds Fuel Economy Policy," 5/26/2010