Comparative study of corporate average fuel consumption regulations based on curb weight and footprint benchmarks

Abstract

In recent years, the rapid development of the automotive industry has brought about several environmental and energy issues worldwide. Many countries have established fuel consumption regulations. Among them, fuel consumption regulations based on the curb weight or footprint have been put forward in China and the US. This paper mainly compares the effect of the application of footprint-based and curb weight-based regulations in China. To compare the effect of these two different benchmarks, a Chinese footprint-based fuel consumption regulation is designed based on the principles of the American footprint regulations and the actual conditions of the Chinese passenger car market, and fuel consumption data from 14 enterprises are also used. It is found that regulations help maintain market neutrality if the target value is separated into two curves according to the type of vehicle. Additionally, footprint regulations are more conducive to vehicle lightweighting than curb weight regulations. Finally, policy recommendations are drawn: to maintain market neutrality, there should be two target value curves in the fifth stage of the weight regulation: one for sedans and one for SUVs. Meanwhile, footprint regulation adaptation should be considered in the future to promote vehicle lightweighting in the Chinese market.