The White House announced last week that starting with the model year 2025, cars and light trucks will be required to get a minimum of 54.5 miles to the gallon (or consume less than 4.3 liters per 100 kilometers) as part of a plan to significantly tighten future fuel efficiency standards.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, as of 2012 there are no fuel-powered cars available on the market with comparable fuel efficiency. Even the smart car, with its cramped, miniature frame, only gets an average combined highway and city rating of 36 mpg (or 6.5L/100 km). However, a small but rapidly growing number of consumer-ready, affordable electric cars may surpass the White House’s aspiring goal.
Ford claims that its’ new 2013 Ford Focus Electric, almost identical to its gas-powered counterpart, has a combined fuel-efficiency rating of over 100 MPGe (less than 2.3L/100 km). Honda’s new Fit EV will get up to 188 MPGe in ideal conditions, while the Nissan Leaf averages a combined 106 MPGe.
Though electric cars are still inferior to their gas-powered counterparts, as the savings that better fuel efficiency would bring continue to be pointed out and the technology continues to improve, EV models may gain a wider acceptance among the general driving public.
