The Biden Administration did indeed release its latest proposals for boosting U.S. vehicle fuel efficiency late Friday afternoon, setting up a new front in the fight with automakers over climate policy.
Headlines focused on the goal of boosting average fuel efficiency for cars and light trucks to 58 miles per gallon by 2032.
But there’s a companion proposal that deserves attention, because it takes aim at a pillar of the Detroit Three automakers’ profits: Heavy duty pickups and vans designed for work, but increasingly marketed and equipped as luxury vehicles.
The administration wants fuel efficiency for vehicles such as the Ford Super Duty, Ram heavy-duty and Chevrolet Silverado and Sierra HD trucks to improve by 10% a year.
Achieving that target could require installing plug-in combustion-electric hybrid systems in future heavy-duty pickups – a technology choice no manufacturer offers now, and for which “there are no announcements from major manufacturers that indicate this is a pathway that they will pursue in the short term,” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in its draft rule. (See pages 200-203 in the document, here.)
Why aren’t truck makers interested in heavy-duty hybrids? NHTSA answered that: “We believe this is in part because PHEVs, which are essentially two separate powertrains combined, can decrease … capability by increasing the curb weight of the vehicle and reducing cargo capacity.”
Still, the administration proposal said “in the right operation” plug-in hybrids could be cost effective. Meanwhile, automakers and suppliers such as Bosch also are investing in fuel cell technology for heavy-duty vans and pickups.
