The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) unveiled a first-ever program to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve fuel efficiency of heavy-duty trucks. The agencies are each proposing complementary standards under their respective authorities, which together would form a comprehensive Heavy-Duty (HD) National Program. These standards complement the 2010 EPA and NHTSA standards that apply to passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty passenger vehicles, covering model years 2012 through 2016.
As AGC previously reported, these new emission standards affect three categories of heavy trucks: combination tractors, pickups, and vans and vocational vehicles covering model years 2014 through 2018. For purposes of this program, the agencies consider heavy-duty fleets as all on-road vehicles rated at a gross vehicle weight at or above 8,500 pounds, and the engines that power them, except those covered by the 2010 standards. EPA and NHTSA estimate that the combined standards will reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by about 270 million metric tons and save about 530 million barrels of oil over the life of vehicles built for the 2014 to 2018 model years. The agencies also plan to address model years beyond 2018 in future rulemakings.
- Combination Tractors—The agencies have adopted differentiated standards for combination tractors – the semi trucks that typically pull trailers – based on three attributes: weight class, cab type and roof height. The standards will phase in by model year. The agencies project that the final standards will achieve from 9 to 23 percent reduction in emissions and fuel consumption from affected tractors over the 2010 baselines.
- Pickups and Vans—The agencies are setting corporate average standards for heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans, similar to the approach taken for light-duty vehicles. The emissions standards are in the form of a set of target standard curves that factor in a vehicle’s payload, towing capabilities, and whether or not it has 4-wheel drive. The standards will phase in with increasing stringency in each model year from 2014 to 2018. The final standards represent an average per-vehicle reduction in GHG emissions of 17 percent for diesel vehicles and 12 percent for gasoline vehicles, compared to a common baseline. The final corporate average standards for fuel consumption represent an average per-vehicle improvement in fuel consumption of 15 percent for diesel vehicles and 10 percent for gasoline vehicles, compared to a common baseline.
- Vocational Vehicles—The agencies identify vocational vehicles as consisting of a very wide variety of truck and bus types including delivery, refuse, utility, dump, cement, transit bus, shuttle bus, school bus, emergency vehicles, motor homes, tow trucks, and many more. To address the unique attributes of this segment, the agencies are regulating chassis manufactures by three subcategories consistent with engine classification. The agencies also set into place regulatory standards that address tire technologies that reduce energy loss.