President Obama this morning canceled a visit to Interstate Moving Services in Springfield, Virginia where he was to announce new fuel efficiency standards for work trucks, buses, and other heavy duty vehicles. In its place, the President met privately with industry officials at the White House to discuss and announce the first of their kind efficiency standards for work trucks, buses, and other heavy duty vehicles.
Last month, the President announced an agreement with automobile manufacturers to increase the fuel standards of vehicle fleets to 54.5 mpg by 2025. By the end of 2016, fuel efficiency standards must be 35.5 mpg. And starting in 2017, manufacturers must improve mileage by 5% per year.
According to a White House press release, these new standards will "save American businesses, who operate and own these commercial vehicles, tens of billions of dollars in fuel costs, and will dramatically reduce oil consumption and cut pollution."
The President has scheduled another visit on Thursday to a battery facility in Holland, Michigan to further the discussion of alternative energies to power cars and trucks.