Announcing Next Generation Fuel Economy Labels

The President and his Administration have made it a priority to protect consumers against rising gas prices. Earlier this year, he announced a plan to reduce our oil imports by a third by 2025 -- leveraging domestic resources while reducing the oil we consume. And he has taken steps to invest in new technologies and more efficient transportation initiatives that are already helping us move towards this important goal.

Today, as part of these efforts, the Administration introduced next generation fuel economy labels that will empower car buyers with better information about what they will spend or save on fuels costs when looking to purchase a new vehicle.

The new fuel economy labels will still provide the same familiar and important information about city and highway mileage for new vehicles, but now for the first time, they will also include comparable fuel economy and environmental ratings for all new vehicles, including advanced technology vehicles like electric cars and hybrids.

The new labels underscore the benefits of the historic passenger car and truck fuel economy rule adopted under this administration by the EPA and DOT in 2010 that will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil over the life of the program and reduce fuel costs for the average consumer by $3,000. 

The bottom line is that these labels will help people make more informed decisions when they're buying a car, so that they can save money at the gas pump. Learn more at www.fueleconomy.gov.

Car buyers can expect to see the new labels early next year when 2013 model vehicles hit the showroom floors, and possibly even earlier on some vehicles, but you can get a sneak preview of the new design at WhiteHouse.gov.

Additionally, as part of Administration efforts to make sure that the government is leading by example when it comes to fuel economy standards, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. General Services Administration and White House Council on Environmental Quality came together this week to announce another major step in boosting clean energy technologies in our Federal fleet.

President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum that will implement new Federal fleet management practices to further the Administration's goals to cut oil imports by one-third by 2025 and to put one million advanced vehicles on the road by 2015.

In tandem, GSA launched a historic Electric Vehicle Pilot program that will put the President’s plan into action and place alternative fueled vehicles into the Federal fleet in cities across the country.