China Sets 42.2 MPG Fuel Efficiency Standard as it Seeks to Curb Oil Consumption

China Sets 42.2 MPG Fuel Efficiency Standard as it Seeks to Curb Oil Consumption

By John O'Dell May 28, 2009

But Be Wary of Unfavorable Comparisons to New 35.5 MPG Standard in U.S.

We'll probably be hearing a lot about this in days and weeks to come: China, concerned about its growing dependence on imported oil, is boosting its version of our federal CAFE fuel economy standard to require passenger vehicles to achieve a fleetwide average of 42.2 miles per gallon by 2015.

That's almost 19 percent more than the 35.5 mpg corporate average fuel economy by 2016 that President Obama announced for the U.S. last week. We can just hear the pundits asking why we're not up there with the Chinese.

So, to toss a little cold water on things, let us point out that China is starting with a much higher fleet average fuel economy than ours. While the actual miles-per-gallon number is bigger, the amount of improvement being demanded by the Chinese government is much less than that being demanded by the U.S. government.

Fuel economy for China's new-car fleet (including SUVs and minivans) already averages 36.8 miles per gallon, so a move to a 42.2-mpg average is a 17.8 percent increase. While significant, that's a lot less of a challenge than automakers doing business in the U.S. will face as the average here rises by almost 40 percent over the next seven years.

(For passenger cars in the U.S., the increase is 42 percent, from the present CAFE standard of 27.5 mpg to 30 mpg; for trucks a 29.8 percent hike to 30 mpg from the present 23.1 mpg will be required.)

The reason China's fuel economy average is so high is that the country's auto fleet is made up mainly of small cars with small engines, and it requires less fuel to move a small vehicle than a big one. Even SUVs in China are tiny by U.S. standards.

One reason Chinese vehicles are small is that they are used mainly for inter-city driving and need to be small to navigate the crowded, often narrow city streets. Additionally, China taxes vehicles based on fuel economy, which has prompted people to demand the most efficient cars and trucks.

China is tackling its oil dependency problem by requiring automakers to meet a minimum fuel economy standard (actually, 16 standards for the 16 classes of vehicles the country recognizes, all averaging out to the 42.2 mpg minimum) and is pushing its populace, via its fuel-economy based vehicle taxes, to favor the most efficient models. Of course, its easier to impose such taxes when you have a one-party, totalitarian government.

In the U.S., we have half the solution: the federal CAFE standard, but we don't follow through with a tax policy that penalizes purchasers of the least efficient models while rewarding those who buy the fuel sippers.

John O'Dell, Senior Editor

John O'Dell:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.