Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards have become the main catchphrases for legislators and automakers speaking about fuel efficiency. These standards dictate that every vehicle in the 2020 model year will need to achieve at least 35 miles per gallon (MPG). While many automakers are taking their time to reach this standard, Hyundai has stated that it will meet CAFE standards by the 2015 model year.
Hyundai will demonstrate two vehicles over the next three months that will achieve this lofty goal. The automaker will show its Santa Fe hybrid SUV and i20 sedan at auto shows in Paris (October) and Los Angeles (November) to put some muscle behind their promises. Hyundai is also working on prototypes with eight-speed auto transmissions and gasoline direct injections that will be available in subsequent shows.
The Santa Fe hybrid marries the vehicle’s SUV body with a parallel hybrid system that ensures greater fuel efficiency. Hyundai claims that the Santa Fe hybrid will get 38 MPG once it is released. The automaker was able to achieve this level of efficiency by adding lithium ion batteries produced by LG Chemical to reduce strain on the engine.
The bigger splash for Hyundai at upcoming motor shows will be the i20 and the i20 i-blue car lines. The i-20 is a five-door sedan with an efficient engine produced by Hyundai’s research facility in Germany. The i20 i-blue features an 89-horsepower diesel engine that can achieve 57 MPG in highway conditions. The i-blue bridges Hyundai’s traditional vehicles with its next generation of clean-running vehicles by using an innovative six-speed manual transmission.
Hyundai’s push for higher fuel efficiency shows the failure of CAFE standards as much as it shows the automaker’s innovations. CAFE standards have been adjusted, manipulated and challenged by legislators, courts and automakers over the last three decades. While CAFE standards have been adjusted regularly to reflect industry lobbying, Hyundai shows that the technology exists to increase fuel efficiency today instead of 2020.
Drivers from Alaska to Florida should make consumer choices and elect leaders that push the industry to reduce fuel consumption right now. The center of the automotive universe has moved away from Detroit to cities throughout the world; Hyundai, Toyota and other automakers show that CAFE standards do not need to be held up by America’s lumbering auto lobby.
