The US Senate approved legislation last night that would for the first time in 30 years force automakers to produce vehicles that get sharply higher fuel mileage.
In a surprise voice vote, senators approved a compromise amendment to an energy bill that would require an improvement in the average efficiency of the new US vehicle fleet from 25 miles per gallon now to 35 mpg by 2020, about a 4 per cent annual increase.
"If we're really smart we'll find a way to make this new approach to fuel efficiency work - to make it work for domestic auto companies, their shareholders, their employees and our nation to reduce our dependence on foreign oil," said Senator Thomas Carper, a co-sponsor of the compromise plan.
Some industry officials bristled at the description of the final Senate initiative as a compromise but major auto companies had no immediate comment after passage of the initiative, which would also reduce carbon emissions.
One senior congressional aide said the auto industry and its allies in the Senate, unhappy with the amendment after failing to garner support for a more palatable alternative, had mounted a last-minute campaign to delay or possibly kill the overall energy bill.
Auto companies have said a strict requirement could financially devastate struggling Detroit companies, including General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group.
But lawmakers said provisions in the final product were achievable.
"It will not do damage to the industry. It will not take away your pickup truck," said Senator Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat.
Joan Claybrook, president of Consumer Group Public Citizen and a former head of the agency that administer's CAFE rules, called the measure a "step backward" because it would give regulators and industry too much discretion.
The Consumer Federation of America praised the bill, saying it will cut oil imports by 15 percent and reduce tailpipe emissions by 1 billion tons.