Japan's new Fuel Economy Standards, targeted for fiscal 2015, aim to achieve a remarkable improvement in automobile fuel economy, according to an interim draft released on December 12, 2006, by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Assuming that shipment volume ratios remain the same as those in fiscal 2004, the new standards will improve fuel economy values by 23.5 percent for passenger cars, from 13.6 kilometers to 16.8 kilometers per liter, 7.2 percent for small buses and 12.6 percent for small freight trucks. The standards categorize passenger cars into 16 segments, small buses into two segments and small freight trucks into 77.

The existing standards, targeted for fiscal 2010, require 13.0 kilometers per liter on average for passenger cars, and yielded some 22 percent improvement in fuel economy between fiscal 1995 and fiscal 2004. The new standards encompass a broader range of vehicles and set higher improvement goals than current standards.

From fiscal 2015, automakers and importers will be required each year to ensure that the weighted harmonic average (WHA) of fuel economies of vehicles shipped within Japan meet the targets in the respective categories. WHA values are calculated based on measured fuel consumption values and volumes of shipment. The two ministries will finalize the plan through joint meetings, after inviting public comments on the draft until January 23, 2007.


- Fuel Economy Standards Developed for Trucks & Buses (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/db/1416-e

Posted: 2007/02/28 07:02:10 AM
Japanese version

TAG Energy , Government , Transportation