Clean trucks and fleets
By Staff -- Purchasing, 3/11/1999
Keep an eye on heavy-duty truck and automotive fleet buys in the next three years. New government regs will probably add to vehicle and fuel costs by the year 2002.Changes are on the way for standards on emissions for heavy-duty truck engines (diesel) and alternative fuels for autos and light trucks in private fleets. There's still a lot of uncertainty about the applicability of EPA's regs in any particular area depending on whether it is subject to special "non-attainment" pollution limits. Also, it's uncertain what technology and alternate fuels manufacturers will employ to meet the new standards.
Diesel engines
As a result of the settlement last October with the government on alleged violations of clean-air standards, major diesel-engine manufacturers agreed to phase in cleaner engines. EPA estimates that manufacturers will spend most of the $1 billion settlement to introduce cleaner new engines, rebuild older engines to cleaner levels, recall pickup trucks, and conduct new emissions testing. The companies have agreed to significantly reduce emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines right away and then meet stricter standards by October 2002.
Glenn Keller, executive director of the Engine Manufacturers Association, says each agreement with manufacturers has phases for reaching the new standard. The effect of higher engine costs on truck manufacturers would be minor, he says.
Alan Schaeffer, VP for environmental policy at the American Trucking Associations, says, however, that "there definitely will be some impact on fuel economy and some on maintenance" from the tighter diesel standard. He's heard reports that stepped-up pollution controls might cut fuel economy from 1%-3%. Some manufacturers, he adds, are claiming they can meet the standard without hurting fuel mileage.
Fleet vehicles
Both the EPA Clean Fuel Fleet Program (cffp) and new DOE alternative fuel fleet regs under development can affect purchasing choices. So far, vehicles that can burn natural gas and reformulated gasoline have been the major offerings from auto manufacturers, with electric vehicles still not up to performance of compression engines.
The cffp program is optional for states in formulating plans to help non-attainment areas come up to federal clean air standards. Under cffp, fleets with more than 10 vehicles up to 8,500 lb must have a percentage of low-emission vehicles (LEVs), which must be as clean as California's standard for LEVs. The percentage rises from 30% in the first year to 70% in third and subsequent years.
So far, vehicles that run on natural gas have been offered most frequently by manufacturers. "The problem with natural gas is distribution," says Executive Director Mary Tavener of the American Automotive Leasing Association. When the Association examined an Energy Department list of compressed natural gas fuel stations, "a small minority" of the stations were open for general use. "The good news is that there hasn't been much implementation of cffp," Tavener says. "I don't see it as a big hammer in the near future." Under the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the Department is now considering whether to impose alternative fuel vehicle quotas for all private fleets over a certain size that now apply to utilities, states, and federal government. The earliest model year that would be covered is 2002. "This would be much more onerous than the cffp," Tavener says.
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