New cars added to North Dakota's state fleet will have to be more efficient to save on fuel costs, the Transportation Department's fleet services director says.

Director Paul Hanson said the new cars will have to get at least 29 miles to the gallon. The state also is looking at hybrids and other types of vehicles, he said.

"It was always just, we wrote a spec for a vehicle and whatever was the lowest cost to purchase is how it was determined," Hanson said. "But part of that specification from now on is the fuel mileage, and we scaled back to a four-cylinder car again."

Hanson said the state has been testing hybrid vehicles. As more of them come on the market, their cost might go down, he said.

"The biggest issue there was the initial cost to purchase versus fuel savings, and we need to evaluate that," he said.

Hanson estimates the state buys about 150,000 gallons of gasoline each month.

Associated Press