Impact of vehicle performance on cost effective way to meet CAFE 2017–2025

In September 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Authority (NHTSA) released the Interim Joint Technical Assessment Report, Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards for Model Years 2017-2025. The objective of the study is to determine the most cost-effective technology options to meet the 3 and 6% fuel consumption improvements proposed for different acceleration performances. To take into account uncertainties, three cases have been considered: low (90%), medium (50%), and high (10%). The low case represents "business as usual," while the high case is based on targets from the U.S. DOE Vehicle Technologies Program. The study, based on Argonne\´s Autonomie vehicle simulation tool, demonstrates that improving vehicle performance benefits the introduction of electric drive vehicles.