The way towards an energy efficient transportation by implementation of fuel economy standards: Fuel savings and emissions mitigation

Final energy use in Malaysia by the transport sector accounts for a consistent share of around 40% and even more in some years within the past two decades. Amongst all modes of transport, land transport dominates and within land transport, private travels are thought to be the biggest contributor. Personal mobility is dominated by the use of conventional internal‐combustion-engine‐powered vehicles (ICE), with the ownership trend of private cars has not shown any signs of tapering‐off. Fuel consumption by private cars is currently not governed by a national policy on fuel economy standards. This is in contrast against not only the many developed economies, but even amongst some of the ASEAN neighbouring countries. The lack of fuel economy standards has resulted in the loss of potentially tremendous savings in fuel consumption and emission mitigation. This study analysed the increase in private vehicle stock to date, the natural fuel economy improvements brought by technology in a business as usual (BAU) situation, and the additional potential energy savings as well as emissions reduction in the ideal case of mandatory fuel economy standards for motor vehicles, specifically cars in Malaysia. The model uses the latest available data, relevant and most current parameters for the simulation and projection of the future scenario. It is found that the application of the fuel economy standards policy for cars in Malaysia is long overdue and that the country could benefit from the immediate implementation of fuel economy standards.