As part of a series of energy-related measures a new bill was voted by US Senate late Thursday. The senators approved an increase in fuel standards for all vehicles by 2020 and the new bill also calls for a significant boost to the production of ethanol and other renewable fuels.

The bill passed with 65-27 votes and it has to be approved also by the lower House of Representatives.

If the bill becomes a law, it will be the first efficiency increase imposed on US carmakers in nearly 20 years.

Senators from car-manufacturing states in both parties had strongly opposed the adoption of more stringent fuel standards, but a bipartisan compromise reached earlier Thursday gave proponents enough votes to override attempts to block the bill's passage.

"If we're really smart we'll find a way to make this new approach to fuel efficiency work... for domestic auto companies, their shareholders, their employees and our nation to reduce our dependence on foreign oil," said Sen Thomas Carper, one of the sponsors of the plan.

Democrat and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a statement said the bill "starts America on a path toward reducing our reliance on oil by increasing the nation's use of renewable fuels and, for the first time in decades, significantly improving the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks."

The Consumer Federation of America praised the bill, saying it will cut oil imports by 15 percent and reduce tailpipe emissions by 1 billion tons.