In particular, battery electric vehicles BEVs and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles PHEVs offer very large improvements in fuel consumption, but this was coupled with a significant price premium in But the new study goes a step further, suggesting the shortcomings in the government's economic analysis are so egregious they seem like a deliberate attempt to manipulate statistics and mislead people.
Diesels, hybrids and electric vehicles cost more than gasoline vehicles having similar attributes. This suggests that the impact of powertrain choices on vehicle prices is lower than is the impact of changes in other vehicle attributes.
In a research paper that scrutinizes the cost-benefit methods used by federal officials to justify rolling back the regulations, the researchers conclude the government analysis is flawed and that it departs from accepted protocols. Antonio Bento, a professor of public policy and economics at the USC Price School of Public Policy and director of the nascent USC Center for Sustainability Solutions, said the study represents a "rapid assessment policy response" to the controversial regulatory proposal, which is undergoing federal rulemaking.
Federal officials argue that forcing automakers to achieve an average of 54 mpg in seven years would lead to cars that are too expensive, thus forcing people to keep too many old vehicles that are less safe.
Long-term commitments are important to ensure that the investments necessary to deploy electrification technologies, which are crucial to meeting the GFEI targets in a phase where consumers are losing confidence in diesel, can take place. By miscalculating the size of the auto fleet, the researchers say the report underestimates vehicle miles traveled, gasoline consumption, GHG emissions and traffic fatalities.
Links between vehicle efficiency and other attributes and prices Analysing vehicle prices against other attributes indicates that consumers are prepared to pay a significant price premium for vehicles belonging to large market segments with higher mass and footprint and for those having a high power rating.
Costs can also be reduced by technology innovation, including improvements to internal combustion engines, automotive materials and design and wider use of zero-emissions vehicles, the study finds.
Countries with decreasing shares of diesel powertrains saw a worsening trend in average fuel consumption in However, vehicle prices need to be analysed in rather narrow groups of attributes such as power, market segment, and size in order to see the impact of changes in powertrain technologies.
Most major vehicle markets have started to take action to develop these measures and currently have varying types of compliance policies in place, whereas enforcement policies are less abundant.
A midterm review conducted in affirmed the benefits exceeded the costs and the measures would be technologically feasible.