General Motors outlined its plans for improving fuel economy in a number of models up through the year 2020 in its 2012 sustainability report. The report states that by 2017, GM is committed to doubling the number of U.S. models that can achieve an EPA-estimated 40 mpg highway and that it will have 500,000 vehicles with some type of electrified technology. GM added that it is committed to reducing the average CO2 tailpipe emissions in its U.S. fleet by 15 percent by 2017, and that its Opel and Vauxhall brands will reduce their average CO2 tailpipe emissions from its fleet by 27 percent by 2020.
Up through 2016, GM plans to focus on reducing vehicle mass and investing in advanced materials, such as high-strength steel, carbon fiber, and aluminum. The company is also focusing on improving gasoline engine efficiency through downsizing, turbocharging, direct injection, variable valve timing, and cylinder deactivation. The automaker said that by using these technologies in its U.S. models it will be able to improve the fuel economy of those vehicles by 18 percent, comparing 2011 to 2016.
