United States to bring the gas mileage rules in the age of hybrids

The Environmental Protection Agency said it would update its labelling rules - date to the 1970s - to resolve the disparities among the growing number of hybrid and electric vehicles on the market.

"E.P.A. welcomes this new trend and will work with consumer advocates, environmental organizations and automotive manufacturers to offer the revised version of the test to ensure fuel economy regulations that consumers regularly receive fuel economy information specific on which they have come to rely," the Agency said in a statement.

The movement comes in addition to consumers and analysts dispute the accuracy of the stickers of fuel consumption of Government on the new models. At the same time, automakers are pushing to improve fuel economy as the new Government mileage standards will be implemented.

In the case of Ford, the automaker said it would reduce reported consumption of its C - Max SUV hybrid 43 miles per gallon of 47 miles per gallon in combined city and highway.

An Executive at Ford, said Thursday that the company had voluntarily reduced the side and would offer cash payments to owners of C - Max for the reimbursement to the fuel consumption further.

Raj Nair, head of Ford's global product development, said that reducing the side would allay the concerns of consumers who do not reach the number of fuel consumption has already been mentioned.

"We are taking actions with our popular hybrid c - Max to ensure that visitors are still more satisfied with the effectiveness of their road vehicle performance," he said.

Ford said that he would make a payment of goodwill of $550 to any customer who bought the current model of the C - Max and $325 for consumers who have rented a.

Industry analysts, said that Ford had to respond to the growing concerns about the reliability of its claims of fuel economy.

"Ford would not take such a drastic measure if it did not feel that it was absolutely necessary, even if it's just to protect his image," said John O'Dell, green-car on the auto research site Edmunds.com analyst.

We know not how consumer campaign will cost Ford, manufacturer second in the country behind General Motors.

The company had sold about 32,000 hybrid C - Max, since its launch last year, said Mr Naïr.

As more conventional hybrids, hybrid C - Max is in turn powered by a gasoline engine and a battery. The system allows the vehicle to consume much less fuel than a car only equipped with a gasoline engine.

The current fuel economy rules specify that manufacturers can use the same numbers of fuel economy for vehicles of similar size with the same engines and transmissions.

The Government requires that automakers to test the fuel economy of the best selling model in a specific category. In its hybrid class size average, for example, Ford tested the Fusion sedan version because it was the best seller.

When the Fusion hybrid reaches 47 miles per gallon in combined city and highway, Ford was able to apply this qualification to the C - Max hybrid as well.

But consumers and automotive publications have questioned if the C - Max hybrid could reach the coast. Ford also faces several lawsuits contesting the allegations of fuel consumption of the vehicle.

Mr. Nair said that many variables can affect fuel economy real of a hybrid vehicle, including weather conditions and driving behaviour. "With hybrids, there is much variability," he said.

He added that it was difficult to make an exact comparison between the C - Max, a utility vehicle with a chunky design and the Fusion more sleek car.

Ford is expected to improve the energy efficiency of the hybrid C - Max when a revamped version of the vehicle is introduced at the end of this year.

Meanwhile, the company hopes that the cash payments to consumers and its revised mileage sticker will defuse the controversy surrounding the C - Max.

Our actions improve commitment of Ford in the direction of fuel economy, said Mr. Nair.

The competition between companies to auto on allegations of fuel consumption is intense, particularly hybrid models and electrified vehicles are introduced.

Last year, South Korean Hyundai and Kia automakers were back on fuel consumption claims swollen after the Government found that the companies had imperfect results.

Manufacturers also rapidly changing their fleets to meet the most stringent requirements of fuel consumption of the Government in the future. In addition to bringing out more hybrid and electric models, companies are reduce the size of engines to regular gasoline and weight of cutting where they can.

But the emphasis on fuel economy also comes at a time when consumers are becoming more sophisticated and aware of the performance of the vehicle - including gasoline consumption targets more. On the latest electric and hybrid, for example, drivers can see on the display of the dashboard exactly how many miles per gallon, reached the vehicle.

The EPA did not specify a time frame for proposing changes to fuel economy labelling requirements. But the Agency said revisions were necessary due to the speed of innovation in industry, especially for hybrid models.

"These vehicles are more sensitive to differences in small design than conventional vehicles because Advanced vehicles, highly effective use for so little fuel," the Agency said.