| Program History
In 1975, the Joint Government-Industry Voluntary Fuel
Consumption Program was established to promote energy conservation in the transportation
sector through the design, manufacture and sale of fuel efficient motor vehicles.
In 1976, Transport Canada began collecting fuel economy
data from the motor vehicle industry and publishing it in the Fuel Economy Guide
(now the Fuel Consumption Guide). The first Guide for model year 1977 contained
combined city and highway fuel economy values in miles-per-gallon for new passenger
cars and new light-duty trucks. The first fuel economy labels appeared on new passenger
cars and new light-duty trucks during the 1977 model year.
The Transport Canada vehicle test fleet, developed in 1970,
was expanded to accommodate the testing requirements of the Fuel Consumption Program.
In 1976, a Company Average Fuel Consumption (CAFC) goal
was introduced for the new passenger car fleet. This voluntary Canadian goal, in
litres-per-100 km, was equivalent to the mandatory Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE)
standard, in miles-per-U.S. gallon, already in place in the United States.
In 1982, the Motor Vehicle Fuel Consumption Standards Act
(MVFCSA) was presented to Parliament to reinforce federal support for an effective fuel
efficiency program in Canada. Among other things this Act would regulate minimum CAFC
standards for specified fleets of motor vehicles, with financial penalties for non-compliance.
The MVSFCA was not proclaimed because the motor vehicle industry agreed to comply
voluntarily with the requirements of the Act.
In 1986, Transport Canada introduced a computerized data
system to collect new motor vehicle fuel economy and emissions data. The data system was
designed to gather the detailed level of data that would be required to support a legislated
fuel consumption program under the MVFCSA. The motor vehicle industry agreed to supply this
level of data under the existing voluntary program agreement.
In 1990, an additional voluntary CAFC goal was added for the
new light-duty truck fleet, reflecting developments in the U.S. CAFE program. Canadian goals
have continued to match the U.S. standards each year for the new passenger car and new
light-duty truck fleets.
|
