Technical documentation 4-3: Fuel Efficiency of New Vehicles (Kilometres per Litre)

The Company Average Fuel Consumption (CAFC) number is a weighted average fuel consumption number for a given company or manufacturer. CAFC numbers are currently calculated annually by Transport Canada for every company that submits data under the Fuel Consumption Program.

The goals represent the maximum weighted average fuel consumption numbers for new light-duty vehicles: passenger cars and light-duty trucks. The Government of Canada, in conjunction with motor vehicle industry, sets CAFC goals annually. There are two annual CAFC goals for new light-duty vehicles – one for passenger cars and another for light-duty trucks. Historically, Canada's CAFC goals have been harmonized with the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards in the United States.

The Canadian fleet average includes all new light-duty vehicles produced for the Canadian market.

The Canadian fleet average is based on CAFC numbers that are calculated for each manufacturer as a weighted average using the unadjusted fuel consumption numbers and the production volumes for each new vehicle model within the particular vehicle class (passenger cars or light-duty trucks).

For each vehicle model, the unadjusted fuel consumption numbers are blended (55% city and 45% highway) to calculate a combined fuel consumption value. The combined fuel consumption numbers for the vehicle are then weighted using the production volumes to reflect its influence against the total fleet production volume – the higher the production volume, the greater the influence. The sum of the weighted combined fuel consumption numbers for all models in a vehicle manufacturer's fleet is divided by the total production volume. The result is the CAFC number for that manufacturer.

Light-duty trucks include vans, pickups, and special-purpose vehicles. Weight limit was 6,001 lb prior to 1988 and 8,501 lb after 1988

The program is voluntary. There are no credits for companies over-achieving the goals, and no penalties for companies that do not meet the goals.

In April 2009, the process to develop fuel consumption regulations pursuant to the Motor Vehicle fuel Consumption Standards Act with financial penalties for non-compliance ended. As published on April 4, 2009, in the Canada Gazette, Part I, it was replaced with a process to develop regulations pursuant to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA). Based on the recently enacted legislation, changes are planned beginning with the 2011 model year. Additional information could be found on the website of Environment Canada, news release of April 1, 2010: "Canada and the United States Announce Common Standards for Regulating GHG Emissions from New Vehicles"

The unit of measurement in the Canadian data source is Litres per 100 Kilometres.

Table 4-3: Fuel Efficiency of New Vehicles (Kilometres per Litre), Canada

Average vehicle fleet: Calculation based on Minimum Average Fuel Efficiency by Company (PREMCE), which is the sum of the fuel efficiency products average for each model multiplied by the number of units of that model sold from January to December divided among the total units sold from January to December for all models.

The fuel efficiency average is the combined fuel efficiency of the same model car for different versions of equipment.

The combined fuel efficiency is obtained by adding the fuel efficiency products of city and highway of each model with a weighting of 55% and 45% respectively, according to the following equation :

RC = 0.55 (RCI) + 0.45 (RCA))

Where:

RC = combined fuel efficiency of each model.

RCI = fuel efficiency of each model in city cycle.

RCA = fuel efficiency of each model in highway cycle.

For the sample, cars and light trucks of 3856 kg (8500 pounds) were considered, depending on the level of sales and representation that normally circulate in the country. For the sample, 91.80% of the cars (subcompact and compact categories) were considered in 2002, 86.4% in 2003, 84.42% in 2004, 85.86% in 2005, 83.78% in 2006 and 96.25% in 2007; likewise 87.53% of light trucks in 2002, 84.6% in 2003, 86.80% in 2004, 88.61% in 2005 and 89.16% in 2006.

Goals: In December 1981, Official Gazette of the Federation published the decree that establishes the minimum levels of fuel efficiency for cars, known as PREMCE (Minimum Average Fuel Efficiency by Company). The implementation period spanned from 1982 to 1990. Initially, the vehicles under observation of the decree should have a vehicle weight less than 2727 kg. (6006.61 pounds) and carry up to 10 passengers. The new domestically manufactured vehicles must display the fuel economy labeling.

At the end of the term of PREMCE in 1990 the automotive industry was not required to comply with improving the performance of their cars nor to provide the public with information on the performance of vehicles sold in Mexico.

As a proposal of the other National Commission for Energy Saving in February 2002, the Mexican Association of Automotive Industry (AMIA) and various Federal Government agencies (Secretaría de Energía, Secretaría de Economía, Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales y Comisión Nacional para el Ahorro de Energía) signed a coalition agreement on energy efficiency, through which the Mexican automotive industry provides information on fuel efficiency of motor vehicles sold in Mexico.

Table 4-3: Fuel Efficiency of New Vehicles (Kilometres per Litre), Mexico

The Company Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rating is a sales volume weighted average fuel consumption number.

First enacted by Congress in 1975, the purpose of CAFE is to reduce energy consumption by increasing the fuel economy of cars and light trucks. Regulating CAFE is the responsibility of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). NHTSA sets fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks sold in the U.S.; EPA calculates the average fuel economy for each manufacturer.

A light truck has a gross vehicle weight rating of 8,500 pounds or less.

The CAFE figures are obtained from pre-model year and mid-model year documents assembled prior to or during the model year. The actual miles per gallon values reported to EPA at the end of these model years may differ slightly from the data that manufacturers reported to NHTSA, which could affect the fleet average miles per gallon for these years.

Table 4-3: Fuel Efficiency of New Vehicles (Kilometres per Litre), Unites States