Auto dealer group responds to 56 miles-per-gallon efficiency goal

According to the Detroit Free Press, a spokesperson for an auto group is pushing back on a 56 miles-per-gallon efficiency requirement that the White House said may go into effect for 2025.

From the Detroit Free Press:

While Detroit’s automakers themselves are staying publicly mum so far on what they think of a 56-miles-per-gallon fuel economy target by 2025 floated by the White House last week, other interest groups are already weighing in.

Bailey Wood, a spokesman for the National Association of Auto Dealers, said that requiring an average of 56 m.p.g. for cars and light trucks would “mean a tremendous shift in the types of vehicles consumers would be able to buy,” and could price some consumers out of the market for smaller cars.

“To meet that goal, 55% of market share would be hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles, according to the Center for Automotive Research,” Wood said in a statement, noting that such vehicles made up less than 3% of what U.S. consumers bought last year.

-Brian Short, Michigan Radio Newsroom