CAFE Public Information Center

The Public Information Center (PIC)

The Public Information Center (PIC) is the authoritative source for Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program data. This site allows fuel economy data to be viewed in report and/or graph format. The data can be sorted and filtered to produce custom reports which can also be downloaded as Excel or pdf files. NHTSA periodically updates the CAFE data in the PIC and, therefore, each report and graph is date stamped to indicate the last time NHTSA made updates.

The reports NHTSA is publishing at this time are as follows. For more details, please see the specific reports.

Fleet Fuel Economy Performance Report

This report provides fuel economy performance, standards and production sales volumes for the industry as combined fleets of domestic passenger cars, import passenger cars and light trucks. Fuel economy performance and standards can be graphed, on a year-by-year basis, to compare different fleets over time.

Manufacturer Fuel Economy Performance Report

This report provides fuel economy performance, standards and production sales volumes for each manufacturer’s fleet of domestic passenger cars, import passenger cars and light trucks. Fuel economy performance and standards can be graphed, on a year-by-year basis, to compare different fleets over time.

Credit Status Report

This report displays each manufacturer’s credit balance. Credits are an earned or traded allowance. Manufacturer compliance with the fuel economy standards is calculated in credits. Starting with model year 2011, manufacturers have been able to trade credits with other manufacturers and transfer credits within their own fleets, which provides additional compliance flexibility.

Civil Penalties Report

This report provides data on all of the civil penalties collected by NHTSA, since the inception of the CAFE program.

Flex Fuel/AMFA Report

The production of flexible fueled vehicles is incentivized in the CAFE program by allowing manufacturers to increase their fleet’s fuel economy performance values, within specific limits. This report shows which manufacturers have produced flex fuel vehicles and the impact those vehicles have had on their fuel economy performance values.

CAFE Overview

NHTSA’s CAFE program requires manufacturers of passenger cars and light trucks, produced for sale in the U.S., to meet CAFE standards, expressed in miles per gallon (mpg). The purpose of the CAFE program is to reduce the nation’s energy consumption by increasing the fuel economy of cars and light trucks. Fuel economy standards improve our nation’s energy security, address climate change and save consumers money at the pump. NHTSA establishes separate passenger car (including domestic and import passenger cars) and light truck fleet standards at “the maximum feasible average fuel economy level that it decides the manufacturers can achieve in each model year.” See the United States Code provisions governing the CAFE program. Manufacturers’ compliance obligations are based on the vehicles that are produced for sale in the U.S. in a model year within each of the three fleets: domestic passenger cars (DP), import passenger cars (IP) and light trucks (LT).

Once a manufacturer’s CAFE standard is calculated for each of its fleets, NHTSA compares each of the fleet’s actual mpg performance against the applicable standard. If a manufacturer’s actual average mpg level for a given fleet exceeds the applicable standard, then the manufacturer earns “credits.” A credit is earned for each 1/10 of an mpg in excess of the fleet’s standard mpg and the actual average mpg. Total credits are calculated as the number of tenths of an mpg (1/10 mpg) times the number of vehicles produced for that fleet. On the other hand, if a manufacturer’s actual average mpg level for a given fleet does not meet the applicable standard, then the manufacturer has a “shortfall” for that fleet. Shortfalls can be satisfied by using one of the following compliance flexibilities:

Carry forward - credits earned in a particular model year can be carried forward and applied for up to five model years after the year in which the credits were earned.
Carry back – credits earned in a particular model year can be carried backward and applied for up to three model years before the year in which the credits were earned.
Civil penalty – manufacturers can pay a civil penalty equal to $5.50 per credit shortfall
Trade – manufacturers can acquire credits from other manufacturers or credit holders.
Transfer – manufacturers can transfer credits from one of their fleets (DP, IP, or LT) to one of their other fleets

Questions? Send an e-mail to the CAFE Team: CAFE@dot.gov

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