Car and light truck fuel economy standards to drop under Trump
The Trump administration on Monday plans to unveil new fuel economy standards that will ease regulatory obligations for automakers regarding pollution control from gasoline-powered cars and light trucks. President Donald Trump stated on his Truth Social media account Saturday that the less stringent mileage requirements would “take the waste out of building cars in America” and save families “thousands on a new, beautiful and safe car,” while boosting auto production in the US. Last December, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration projected that the new standards would establish the industry fleetwide average for light-duty vehicles at approximately 34.5 miles per gallon in the 2031 model year, a decrease from the anticipated 50.4 miles per gallon in 2031 under regulations implemented by the Biden administration. Fuel economy requirements delineate the distance new vehicles must cover per gallon of petrol. The change would further fulfilll Trump’s promise to revoke policies that encouraged or created incentives for the production of electric vehicles.
Since taking office, Trump has eased regulations on auto tailpipe emissions, eliminated penalties for automakers failing to comply with federal mileage standards, and discontinued consumer incentives of up to $7,500 for electric vehicle purchases. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy indicated on Saturday via his social media account on X that the forthcoming changes are set to be disclosed on Monday. The White House, Department of Transportation, and NHTSA were not immediately available for comment regarding the specifics of the new standards. General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford Motor, the manufacturer of the leading pickup truck, the F-150, were also unavailable for immediate comment. The administration and automakers have asserted that the new regulations will enhance Americans’ access to the complete spectrum of petrol vehicles that they require and can afford. The average new car in America sold for $50,089 in August, surpassing the $50,000 threshold for the first time since last December, as reported by Kelley Blue Book data. Simultaneously, Americans are increasing their expenditures on petrol as the conflict between Washington and Iran interferes with the global distribution of fuel. The national average price for a gallon of petrol was $4.47 on Sunday, an increase from $4.09 a month prior, as reported by source.
Trump has consistently vowed to eliminate what he inaccurately describes as an EV “mandate,” mischaracterising President Joe Biden’s objective that 50% of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030. No federal policy has mandated automobile manufacturers to sell electric vehicles. Data indicates that electric vehicles comprised 6.5 percent of new vehicle sales in February, a decrease from the 7.4 percent recorded for the entirety of 2025. News of the revised standards promptly elicited criticism from environmentalists. Dan Becker said that the final rule “ignores the feasibility of clean technology and the millions of fuel-efficient cars already on the road.” And “Trump is tanking sensible mile per gallon standards at the worst possible time for consumers, who are getting hit with sky-high prices at the pump,” Becker said in a statement. “Consumers will pay the price for these reckless rollbacks while Trump’s Big Oil and Big Auto buddies reap the short-term profits.” Katherine Garcia vowed the environmental group would fight the rule and said that the loosening of fuel standards would “make driving more expensive too.” And “Less fuel-efficient cars mean more gas burned, spending more at the pump, and dirtier air in our communities,” Garcia wrote in a statement.
When the 2024 standards were implemented, NHTSA projected that they would conserve 14 billion gallons of petrol from combustion by 2050. The agency also stated that although the initial cost of new fuel-efficient vehicles is higher, the savings on petrol throughout the vehicle’s lifespan would more than compensate for that expense. Absent these standards, by 2035, vehicles might emit an additional 22,111 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually compared to the regulations established during the Biden administration. It also translates to an additional 90 tonnes annually of hazardous soot particles and 4,870 extra tonnes per year of smog constituents, including nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, released into the atmosphere in the forthcoming years. Mileage standards, referred to as the corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE, have been in place since the energy crisis of the 1970s. Over the years, automakers have progressively enhanced the average efficiency of their vehicles.
