Donald Trump’s newly appointed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, Lee Zeldin, wants to “fix” start-stop technology in new vehicles.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Zeldin declared that “everyone hates” start-stop systems, and suggested the technology exists solely so that “companies get a climate participation trophy”.
Zeldin has not given details of how he plans to tackle start-stop technology in the United States.
However, the systems have become more prevalent in recent years, automatically turning off the engine of gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles to help save fuel when the car or truck is stationary.
Credits for eco technology
With his role as the head of the EPA, Zeldin has oversight of the ‘Off-Cycle Credits’ program, given to automotive manufacturers for using certain technologies.
This scheme has encouraged auto makers to fit stop-start systems, along with LED lights, solar panels and active aerodynamics such as grille shutters. The credits given reflect the eco benefits of these technologies, which are not captured in the EPA’s fuel economy testing.
This means that while the EPA has not mandated car manufacturers to make use of stop-start technology, it has rewarded and encouraged them to do so.
As a result, almost two-thirds (65 percent) of new cars sold in the United States came with stop-start systems in 2023, compared with just nine percent in 2016.
Four days of idling each year
Previous research published by Chevrolet found the average American driver spends 16 minutes each day idling in traffic, or 5,840 minutes each year. This is equivalent to more than four whole days of being behind the wheel and going nowhere.
According to the EPA’s own analysis, the introduction of stop-start systems is said to have eliminated close to 10 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year in the United States.
Even if Zelin directs the EPA to remove credits for stop-start technology, this is unlikely to see the systems disappear overnight in the U.S. market.
Emissions testing in other regions, such as the European Union, has made the use of automatic start-stop systems attractive to automotive manufacturers. Given how the same vehicles are often sold across multiple regions, cars are likely to keep turning themselves off “at every red light” for some time to come.
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