LEV, SULEV, PZEV and a lot more - Abbreviations and emissions

There are many regulations within the world of alternative fuel and low emission vehicles. Some states have more strict standards than national regulations. This has created some abbreviations about emissions. This is what the popular abbreviations mean.

Resource for this article: Abbreviations and emissions – LEV, SULEV, PZEV and more By Car Deal Expert

Low emission vehicle – LEV and NLEV

The LEV or NLEV standard was instituted at first by California as the “Low Emission Vehicle” standard, and later adopted as the “National Low Emission Vehicle” standard. Per mile, they’re allowed to emit up to 3.4 grams of carbon monoxide. This standard is applies through about model year 2003.

ULEV – Ultra Low Emission Vehicle

Ultra Low Emission Automobile standards, in many states, applies to cars that come from the model years 2003 to 2010. These ULEV passenger cars are required to emit no more than 1.7 grams per pile of carbon monoxide. Alternately, ULEV cars can only emit half of the emissions of comparable model-year vehicles.

SULEV – Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle

Super Ultra Low Emission Cars, otherwise known as SULEV cars, are required to emit no more than 10 percent of the average emissions of comparable model-year automobiles. SULEV vehicles are, most often, ultra-efficient hybrids or alternative-fuel autos.

PZEV is a Partial Zero Emission Vehicle

The standards for a PZEV — Partial Zero Emission Car — are the exact same as for an SULEV vehicle. Nevertheless, to qualify as a PZEV, a automobile has to have a whole bunch of extra controls on gas evaporation and must maintain low emission levels for 150,000 miles. As of 2001, there are several ordinary gasoline engines that qualify as PZEV.

Zero Emissions Automobile – ZEV

Used to refer to hydrogen-fueled or electric cars typically, Zero Emissions Autos aren’t always necessarily totally “zero emissions." For instance, a car that charges off of the power grid can still be considered ZEV – despite the fact that the grid does still puts out many pollution.

Standards for fuel economy

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