WASHINGTON –NGVAmerica said it applauded the Obama Administration’s decision to include additional regulatory incentives for natural gas vehicles (NGVs) as part of the recently finalized new fuel economy and greenhouse gas rules. The new Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) rules cover light duty vehicles manufactured in model years 2017-2025.

“These rules are important because they reward manufacturers for producing more NGVs and should help accelerate the introduction of light-duty NGVs here in the U.S.,” said NGVAmerica President Richard Kolodziej. “These rules will play an important role in ensuring that consumers have more fuel options to choose from in the near future and will help this country reduce its reliance on foreign oil.”

NGVAmerica and many other organizations supporting NGV growth submitted comments on the EPA and NHTSA rules, and a number of the industry recommendations were incorporated into the final rule, according to NGVAmerica. Because NGVs provide a significant greenhouse gas benefit, the rules provide added greenhouse gas credits to manufacturers for producing dedicated (natural gas-only) and bi-fuel NGVs. The rules also make changes in the way bi-fuel NGVs are treated so that the petroleum-reduction benefits of these vehicles are more fully reflected in the credits manufacturers receive.

To learn more about NGVAmerica visit booth #423 during the Green Fleet Conference.