Designing Flexible Vehicle Efficiency Regulations for Light-Duty Vehicles

Improving the efficiency of the vehicle fleet and diversifying available vehicle technologies are critical strategies for strengthening transportation system resilience and reducing dependence on imported fuels. One type of public policy to achieve these goals is performance-based regulations, which act upstream in the supply chain by requiring vehicle manufacturers to meet a specified standard across a fleet. A key feature of modern vehicle regulations is the inclusion of flexible design mechanisms that allow manufacturers to choose among multiple compliance pathways. These mechanisms—such as credit trading and banking—are intended to reduce compliance costs and improve policy acceptability. However, despite their widespread use, there is limited systematic understanding of how these design features are defined, their rationale for implementation, and how they influence regulatory outcomes. This project will develop a comprehensive framework for understanding and designing flexible vehicle efficiency regulations. The work will identify flexible design mechanisms embedded in global vehicle efficiency regulations, analyze how different policy design features influence compliance costs and cost distribution across manufacturers, and provide policy-relevant guidance for designing efficient, durable, and adaptable vehicle regulations.

• Record URL:
  • https://ncst.ucdavis.edu/project/designing-flexible-vehicle-efficiency-regulations-light-duty-vehicles

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $20,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  DOT 69A3552348319

  DOT 69A3552344814

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  National Center for Sustainable Transportation

  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA  United States 
• Managing Organizations:

  National Center for Sustainable Transportation

  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA  United States 

  University of California, Davis

  1 Shields Ave
  Davis, California  United States  95616
• Project Managers:

  Cliff, Sydney

• Performing Organizations:

  National Center for Sustainable Transportation

  University of California, Davis
  Davis, CA  United States 

  University of California, Davis

  1 Shields Ave
  Davis, California  United States  95616
• Principal Investigators:

  Robinson, Anya

• Start Date: 20260701
• Expected Completion Date: 20270630
• Actual Completion Date: 0
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Energy efficiency; Light vehicles; Policy analysis; Regulations; Vehicle performance
• Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Law; Policy; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 02001898
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: National Center for Sustainable Transportation
• Contract Numbers: DOT 69A3552348319, DOT 69A3552344814
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Sep 9 2026 3:23PM