Michigan drivers will save $937 million a year at the pump in 2030 as a result of new fuel economy and vehicle emission standards, according to a new analysis released by Great Lakes Regional Center of the National Wildlife Federation.

The analysis, from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), shows that the average Michigan household will save $240 a year.  Fuel savings from driving higher-mileage vehicles will far outweigh the cost of new automotive technology used to meet standards for cars and light trucks in model years 2017 to 2025, currently under development by the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Other studies, notably one by Center For Automotive Research have suggested the new standards  could boost the price of new vehicles by as much as $5,000.

 The National Wildlife Federation report  also finds that the new standards cut oil use in Michigan by 622 million gallons per year in 2030, and eliminate 7.4 million metric tons of carbon pollution.

 “It’s the equivalent of taking 1 million vehicles off the road, without taking the vehicles off the road ” said Frank Szollosi, Climate and Global Warming Associate at NWF. “The beauty of it is, we’ll be driving cleaner cars and light trucks, equipped with the latest technology, with value added and jobs created here in the industrial Midwest.”

  In July, President Obama outline the framework for the new 2017-2025 standards, which will ensure that new cars and trucks meet the equivalent of a 54.5 miles-per-gallon fleetwide average by 2025.  Nationwide, the new analysis projected that these standards will  save Americans $44 billion a year by 2030, cut oil use by 23.6 billion gallons, and reduce global warming pollution by 280 million metric tons, making this the single biggest step this country has ever taken to get cut the nation’s dependence on oil and tackle global warming, according to the National Wildlife Federation. By Joseph Szczesny