Auto dealers say MPG proposals risk jobs

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The National Automobile Dealers Association says raising fuel efficiency standards on U.S. cars would make them so expensive Americans would lose jobs.

The Obama administration said it was considering raising average fuel efficiency standards to as high as 62 miles per gallon by 2025, more than twice the standard set for 2016, The Detroit News reported Saturday.

"For many Americans, the prospect of being priced out of the car market means being driven out of the job market, so a primary concern for our members is the affordability of basic transportation," the association said.

The News said the average price of a new car could jump by $770 if fuel efficiency standards were set at 47 mpg, the low end of what the administration is considering. If set at 62 mpg, the average price of a car could jump by $3,500, the newspaper said.

Dave McDurdy, chief executive officer of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said the trade group would "carefully review the technical assessment's assumptions" in the government's data supporting the proposal. "The report is based on very preliminary and incomplete data at this point and will inevitably change," he said.

The News said the 62 mpg standard would set the average higher than the best performing car on the market today.

The Toyota Prius currently averages 50 mpg, whereas a 62 mpg standard would likely force cars to average 75.9 mpg while trucks averaged 45 mpg, the newspaper said.