
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 225 (Wednesday, November 21, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69924-69925]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-28305]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA-2012-0059]


Request for Comments on a Renewal of a Previously Approved 
Information Collection: Production Plan Reports

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), this notice announces that the Information 
Collection Request (ICR) abstracted below is being forwarded to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and comments. A 
Federal Register Notice with a 60-day comment period soliciting 
comments on the following information collection was published on June 
12, 2012 (77 FR 35110). No comments were received.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before December 21, 2012.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kenneth R. Katz, Fuel Economy 
Division, Office of International Policy, Fuel Economy and Consumer 
Programs, NVS-132, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, 
DC 20590. Phone: (202) 366-4936.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Title: 49 CFR Parts 531 and 533 Passenger Car Average Fuel Economy 
Standards--Model Years 2016-2025; Light Truck Average Fuel Economy 
Standards--Model Years 2016-2025; Production Plan Data.
    OMB Control Number: 2127-0655.
    Type of Request: Renewal of a previously approved information 
collection.
    Abstract: In this collection of information, NHTSA is requesting 
updated future product plans from vehicle manufacturers, as well as 
production data through the recent past, including data about engines 
and transmissions for model year MY 2012 through MY 2025 passenger cars 
and light trucks and the assumptions underlying those plans.
    NHTSA requests information for MYs 2012-2025 to aid NHTSA in 
developing a realistic forecast of the MY 2016-2025 vehicle market. 
Information regarding earlier model years may help the agency to better 
account for cumulative effects such as volume and time-based

[[Page 69925]]

reductions in costs, and also may help to reveal product mix and 
technology application trends during model years for which the agency 
is currently receiving actual corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) 
compliance data. Information regarding later model years helps the 
agency gain a better understanding of how manufacturers' plans through 
MY 2025 relate to their longer-term expectations regarding Energy 
Independence and Security Act requirements, market trends and prospects 
for more advanced technologies.
    NHTSA will also consider information from model years before and 
after MYs 2016-2025 when reviewing manufacturers' planned schedules for 
redesigning and freshening their products in order to examine how 
manufacturers anticipate tying technology introduction to product 
design schedules. In addition, the agency is requesting information 
regarding manufacturers' estimates of the future vehicle population, 
and fuel economy improvements and incremental costs attributed to this 
notice.
    Affected Public: Automobile manufacturers.
    Number of Respondents: 30.
    Number of Responses: 30.
    Total Annual Burden Hours: Reports are requested from each of the 
thirty automotive manufacturers. For each manufacturer who supplies 
product plan reports, NHTSA has made available a product plan template, 
which can be found at: http://www.nhtsa.gov/Laws+&+Regulations/CAFE+-
+Fuel+Economy/Current+and+past+product+plan+requests.
    NHTSA currently has a clearance for 16,000 hours, based on reports 
being received from 22 manufacturers. Including reports from eight 
additional manufacturers, most of which produce approximately 500 
vehicles per year, results in an additional reporting burden of 500 
hours. Adding that burden to the existing burden of 16,000, results in 
a total reporting burden of 16,500 hours. The information requested in 
the templates may change from request to request as new fuel economy 
technologies are implemented, which may increase the amount of 
information requested, and as older technologies are phased out, which 
may decrease the amount of information requested. Therefore, the time 
needed to complete the templates may vary for each product plan 
request. Although the reporting burden may not be precisely 16,500 
hours for each specific product plan request, NHTSA believes that, 
based on prior experience, that this burden is representative and 
accurate for the purposes of this clearance.
    Frequency of Collection: Manufacturer product plans are requested 
each time that NHTSA initiates a rulemaking for light-duty fuel economy 
standards. These standards may be issued for a one to five year time 
frame; thus, manufacturers would be expected to provide these reports 
every one to five years. Recent NHTSA rulemakings have typically ranged 
between three and five years. NHTSA generally requests product plans 
prior to issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking and prior to the 
issuance of a final rule. Since the gap between the two rules generally 
is less than a year, manufacturers would be expected to provide two 
reports for each rulemaking cycle.

ADDRESSES: Send comments regarding the burden estimate, including 
suggestions for reducing the burden, to the Office of Management and 
Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for the Office of the Secretary of 
Transportation, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503. Comments are 
invited on: whether the proposed collection of information is necessary 
for the proper performance of the functions of the Department, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; the 
accuracy of the Department's estimate of the burden of the proposed 
information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the 
burden of the collection of information on respondents, including the 
use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.

Authority:  The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, 
as amended; and 49 CFR 1:48.

    Issued on: November 15, 2012.
Christopher J. Bonanti,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2012-28305 Filed 11-20-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P


