What are CAFÉ standards?

CAFÉ standards, or Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards, are regulations in the United States aimed at improving the average fuel efficiency of new vehicles sold by automobile manufacturers. Established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), these standards require manufacturers to achieve specific fuel economy targets for their fleets, encouraging the production of more fuel-efficient vehicles. The goals of CAFÉ standards include reducing greenhouse gas emissions, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and promoting energy conservation. Compliance is measured as a manufacturer's average fuel economy across its fleet of vehicles sold in a given model year.