Automotive technology is advancing steadily, according to a new federal report, so automakers should be on track to meet 2025 clean car standards with known technologies, at the same cost, or lower, than previously estimated.

The EPA, in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and California Air Resources Board (CARB), is conducting a Midterm Evaluation (MTE) of emissions standards for model years 2022-2025.

The MTE serves as a progress report for existing carbon pollution and fuel economy goals, and the administration will use the results to decide whether it should leave the existing standards (established in 2012) alone, water them down (as the auto industry will surely urge) or beef them up (as CARB may recommend).

The recently released report is a draft, which will be open for public comment before a final determination is made in April 2018.

Roland Hwang of the Natural Resources Defense Council praised the progress that has been made: “This is a defining moment for the auto industry. All signs show that the standards that drive clean cars to market are getting stronger, not weaker.  It’s time for US automakers to put their clean car programs into high gear.”

Source: EPA via Natural Resources Defense Council