Civil Penalties

On January 14, 2021, NHTSA published an interim final rule in response to a petition for rulemaking from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation. The interim final rule applied the adjusted civil penalty rate applicable to automobile manufacturers that violate relevant corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards beginning with vehicle Model Year (MY) 2022. The interim final rule also requested comment. In light of a subsequent Executive order and the agency's review of comments, NHTSA reviewed and reconsidered that interim final rule, a process that included a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) to consider the appropriate path forward and to allow interested parties sufficient time to provide comments. As a result of this review and reconsideration, including a careful consideration of the comments received in response to the SNPRM, NHTSA is repealing the interim final rule and reverting to the December 2016 final rule that would apply the adjustment for the CAFE civil penalty rate beginning with Model Year 2019. In this rule, NHTSA is also applying the statutorily required annual adjustments through 2022. Going forward, NHTSA will continue to make the mandatory adjustments to the CAFE civil penalty rate, as required by law for all civil monetary penalties.