A study by an auto industry research group said Wednesday that requiring automakers to meet fuel economy standards of 60 miles per gallon by 2025 would decrease sales because cars and trucks would become more expensive, and could eliminate up to 1.3 million jobs nationwide. Such a requirement, which is under consideration by the Obama administration and supported by some environmental groups, could actually increase emissions if many people avoided buying new vehicles and held on to less efficient ones longer, the group, the Center for Automotive Research, said. The worst case would be for the government to enact aggressive standards and for gasoline prices to remain low, Sean McAlinden, the group's chief economist, said. McAlinden projects that the cost of a vehicle would increase by an average of $9,147, or about 23 percent, by 2025. At the same time, given the higher fuel-efficiency requirements, drivers would save an average of $2,693 over the life of the vehicle if gasoline were $3.50 a gallon or $4,616 if it were $6 a gallon. An increase in costs would cause the industry to sell 4.5 million fewer vehicles a year, resulting in the loss of about 222,000 jobs at carmakers and their suppliers, McAlinden said. The group says each job in the auto industry supports about six jobs in the broader community. 'The higher the mandate and the lower the gasoline price, the lower the employment,' he said. For 2010, the government requires automakers to meet corporate average fuel economy standards of 27.5 mpg for passenger cars and 23.5 mpg for pickups, sport utility vehicles and other light trucks. The standard rises to 35.5 mpg for cars and trucks combined by 2016. Advocates of the higher standards say they are necessary to reduce energy usage and dependency on foreign oil, but critics say they prevent automakers from developing new vehicles to suit consumers' tastes. Consumers flocked to small cars in 2008 as gas prices surged above $4 a gallon, but truck sales have rebounded this year amid stable gas prices. 'Cars are consumer products, and the consumer is fickle,' Mike Omotoso, the senior manager of global powertrain forecasting at J.D. Power & Associates, said. 'We have to satisfy consumer demand.' 