Current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations require carmakers to achieve a fleet average of 54.5 mpg by 2025, but that doesn’t directly translate into the numbers consumers will see on window stickers a decade from now.
The CAFE figure equals roughly 40 mpg on the window sticker, in part because of credits carmakers can earn for technologies that reduce emissions in ways that don’t show up in EPA fuel-economy testing. These “off-cycle” credits are available for things like air conditioning systems that use green refrigerants.
Paint and glass don’t seem to fall into that category, but the Detroit Three carmakers hope the EPA will think differently. They each submitted requests for those items and others to be given “off-cycle” credits, reports Automotive News.
The argument here is that paint and glass can reflect the sun’s rays, keeping a vehicle cooler in hot weather. That allows the air conditioning to be used less, which in turn saves fuel. So far, the EPA hasn’t ruled on that or any of the other requests made by Ford, General Motors, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).
GM seeks credits for using a more-efficient air conditioner compressor introduced on the 2013 Cadillac ATS and since added to all full-size trucks, including the Chevrolet Silverado
In addition to solar-reflective glass and paint, FCA wants credits for ventilated seats and LED lighting. Ford wants credits for those features, plus active grille shutters, engine start-stop systems (which are generally disabled during fuel-economy testing), and technologies that warm up engines and transmissions more efficiently.
In addition, GM wants a credit for a new Denso air-conditioning compressor it claims is more efficient than a conventional compressor. The part was introduced on the 2013 Cadillac ATS, and has since migrated to GM’s full-size trucks.
Carmakers use credits as a sort of currency to avoid penalties when they miss efficiency targets. After the total carbon emissions produced by vehicles sold in a given year are tallied up, that carbon footprint can be offset by applying the credits.
Some of the credits being requested only represent small improvements. The ventilated seats in a 2015 Ram 1500 HFE pickup truck are only supposed to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions of 425 grams per mile by 1.3 grams per mile.
But with a steep improvement curve leading up to the 2025 54.5 mpg goal, carmakers will take anything they can get.
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