Abbreviations and emissions such as LEV, SULEV, PZEV, and more

You will find many regulations in the world of option fuel and low emission automobiles. Even with national regulations, some states have even stricter standards. This patchwork has created a veritable storm of abbreviations about vehicle emissions. This is what the popular abbreviations mean.

Source for this article: Abbreviations and emissions – LEV, SULEV, PZEV and more

LEV and NLEV are low emission vehicles

The LEV or NLEV standard was first instituted by California as the “Low Emission Vehicle” standard, and later adopted as the “National Low Emission Vehicle” standard. These standards, for passenger cars, mean emitting less than 3.4 grams per mile of carbon monoxide. Through the 2003 model, this standard is applied.

Ultra Low Emission – ULEV

Ultra Low Emission Vehicle standards, in numerous states, applies to autos in model years 2003 to 2010. These ULEV passenger cars have to stay under 1.7 grams per pile of carbon monoxide. Alternately, ULEV vehicles are required to emit no more than half of the emissions of comparable model-year cars.

Super Ultra Low Emission Car – SULEV

Super Ultra Low Emission Cars, otherwise known as SULEV cars, have to emit no a lot more than 10 percent of the average emissions of comparable model-year vehicles. SULEV cars tend to be ultra-efficient hybrids or alternative-fuel vehicles.

PZEV – Partial Zero Emission Automobile

The standards for a PZEV — Partial Zero Emission Car — are the same as for an SULEV car. However, in order to qualify as a PZEV, a vehicle has to have additional controls on gas evaporation and must maintain low emission levels for 150,000 miles. As of 2001, you will find a number of ordinary gasoline engines that qualify as PZEV.

ZEV – Zero Emissions Automobile

Zero Emissions Cars aren’t always necessarily totally “zero emissions." For example, a car that charges off of the power grid could be considered ZEV – despite the fact that the grid nevertheless puts out some pollution.

Standards for fuel economy

Though some states use alphabet soup to describe the efficiency of automobiles, the federal government and EPA have opted to go with a different system. By 2016, vehicle makers can be required to build cars with an average fuel economy rating of 35.5 miles per gallon.