Canadian Legislative Issues

Now into its second model year of existence, the auto industry’s still-new 5-cycle fuel efficiency testing process is getting good reviews from governments, manufacturers, and consumers alike. After criticism of manufacturers’ old 2-cycle testing process for fuel efficiency resulted in an updated procedure for the 2015 model year, today’s fuel economy ratings for all models on the Canadian market can transparently be seen as a more accurate reflection of real-world driving conditions and the fuel consumption actually achieved by regular vehicle use.

Manufacturers are now using an improved testing procedure, introduced for model year 2015, to determine the fuel consumption ratings of new light-duty vehicles. The new 5-cycle test better approximates typical driving conditions and styles, resulting in fuel consumption ratings that are more representative of a vehicle’s on-road (i.e. real world) fuel consumption.

The 5-cycle testing procedure supplements the standard 2-cycle city and highway tests by integrating three additional test cycles that account for air conditioner use, cold temperature operation and driving at higher speeds with more rapid acceleration and braking. For the same make and model, 5-cycle testing produces fuel consumption ratings that are 10 to 20 percent higher than 2-cycle ratings.

It is important to note, in this context, that manufacturers are not all of a sudden producing vehicles that are less fuel efficient than they were in 2014 and before. Only that the tests performed to determine fuel efficiency have been updated and made more rigorous, resulting in a consumption estimate that more accurately reflects what drivers achieve in the real world, on Canada’s roads and in our challenging climactic conditions.

New vehicles are getting more and more fuel efficient every year, due to massive investments by manufacturers, consumer demand for efficient and clean-burning vehicles, and ever-tightening government fleet average fuel economy regulations. Though these regulations will impose costs on consumers and fleet administrators buried in new vehicle prices, long term operational costs will continue to improve as fuel efficiency gains continue to be made by virtue of the double incentive of regulation and market demand. This is a win for the industry and the environment.