US issues fuel efficiency standards for cars

WASHINGTON - The US government Tuesday finalized record high standards to double fuel efficiency for cars and trucks by 2025.

Under the new standards, fuel efficiency will increase to 23.17 kilometers per liter. The new standards apply to cars and light-duty trucks for Model Years 2017 to 2025, the White House said in a statement.

The final standards were developed by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), following new agreement last year with major automakers, which together account for over 90 percent of all vehicles sold in the nation.

Combined with previous standards set by the US government, this move will nearly double the fuel efficiency of those vehicles compared to new vehicles currently on roads, said the statement.

In 2009, the US government entered agreement with major automakers to improve fuel economy standards to 15 kilometers per liter for those vehicles by 2016.

In total, theses combined programs to improve fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions will save consumers more than $1.7 trillion in fuel costs and reduce US oil consumption by 12 billion barrels, said the statement.