Trump Expected to Significantly Weaken Fuel Economy Rules

December 03, 2025

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by Lisa Friedman and Maxine Joselow (New York Times/The Spokesman-Review) The Trump administration is expected Wednesday to propose weakening automobile fuel efficiency standards that were set under President Joe Biden to spur the sale of electric vehicles, according to three people familiar with the plan.

Executives from major automakers including Ford Motor, General Motors and Stellantis were invited to attend the announcement at the White House, according to the three people, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to discuss the event.

Details of the proposed plan, first reported by Reuters, were not immediately available. But President Donald Trump teased the announcement during a Cabinet meeting Tuesday (December 2, 20225), saying that his administration was taking steps to lower the price of gasoline-powered cars and dismantle policies that promote electric vehicles.

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Congress established the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards in 1975 as a way to curb the country’s dependence on foreign oil. Since then, the efficiency rules have been regularly tightened, compelling automakers to improve the distance their vehicles travel on a gallon of gas. The standards have also helped to introduce innovations such as hybrid and electric vehicles.

The rules have significantly reduced the greenhouse gas emissions that spew from automobile tailpipes and are dangerously warming the planet. Transportation is the single largest source of greenhouse gases in the United States.

Under a rule finalized in June 2024, the Biden administration required automakers to achieve an average fuel efficiency of about 50 miles per gallon for new vehicles by model year 2031. To comply, federal officials expected that manufacturers would increase the sales of electric vehicles, which use no gasoline and would help boost the average fuel efficiency across their product lines.

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When Trump took office, he immediately sought to eliminate federal support for electric vehicles, pledging to end what he called Biden’s “EV mandate.”

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Congress has already eased up on automakers. Trump’s domestic policy law, enacted in July, eliminated fines for automakers that fail to comply with federal fuel economy standards.

After announcing the proposal Wednesday, the Transportation Department is expected to solicit public comments before finalizing the rule sometime next year. The EPA is also expected to weaken limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks in the coming months. READ MORE

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"Trump Expected to Significantly Weaken Fuel Economy Rules" (Society of Environmental Journalists)
White House to propose significant rollback in fuel economy standards, sources say (Reuters)
White House to propose relaxed fuel economy standards in bid to lower prices today (Bloomberg/Automotive News)
Trump To Ease Mileage Rules In Bid To Curb Rising Car Prices (Bloomberg; includes VIDEO)
Trump to ease mileage rules in bid to curb rising car prices (Detroit News)
The Fight for FFVs (Ethanol Producer Magazine)
Trump Administration Lowers Fuel-Economy Rules For Carmakers (Wall Street Journal)
President Trump plans to roll back fuel economy standards for cars (Associated Press/2 News Nevada)
Trump hosts Detroit Three, hails deregulation to lower car prices (Detroit News)
Trump announces plan to weaken Biden-era tailpipe rules -- The administration said the move would save money for car buyers, but critics warned there are economic and environmental drawbacks to lowering fuel efficiency standards. (E&E News PM)
Fuel savings vs. car costs: Trump to roll back Biden vehicle rules (Politico)
Trump Returns to Gasoline as Fuel of Choice for Cars, Gutting Biden’s Climate Policy
The president said he would weaken Biden-era mileage standards, which were designed to increase electric-vehicle sales, calling them a “scam.” (New York Times)
Democrats slam Trump’s rollback of fuel economy rules -- A cross-section of Republicans expressed support for the president’s move. (E&E Daily)
Trump to scrap Biden-era fuel economy rules (E&E News Greenwire)
Trump takes a bite out of the CAFE standards (The Hill)
Ford’s CEO Applauds Trump’s CAFE Rollback, Says They Were Forced Into EVs -- Jim Farley expects vehicle prices to fall under the new fuel-economy standards, giving buyers more choice in gas, hybrid, and EV segments (Car Scoop; includes VIDEO)
How Trump broke California’s grip on the auto market -- The Trump administration learned from a first term hampered by sloppy regulations and internal resistance. (Politico Pro)

Excerpt from Reuters: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expected to propose significantly reducing the fuel economy requirements for 2022-2031 model-year vehicles. President Donald Trump is set to announce the plan at a White House event on Wednesday that is expected to include executives from the three largest U.S. automakers, the sources added. Earlier this year, Trump signed legislation that ended fuel economy penalties for automakers, and NHTSA said they faced no fines dating back to the 2022 model year.

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In June, NHTSA paved the way for looser U.S fuel economy standards by declaring that Biden's administration its authority by assuming high uptake of electric vehicles in calculating rules.

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In June 2024, during the Biden administration, NHTSA said it would hike Corporate Average Fuel Economy requirements to about 50.4 miles per gallon (21.4 km per liter) by 2031, from the current 39.1 mpg, for light-duty vehicles. That rule did not increase requirements light trucks for 2027 and 2028 and required 2% increases from 2029 to 2031.

The agency last year said the rule for passenger cars and trucks would reduce gasoline consumption by 64 billion gallons and cut emissions by 659 million metric tons, reducing fuel costs with net benefits estimated at $35.2 billion for drivers.

Last year, Chrysler-parent Stellantis (STLAM.MI), opens new tab paid $190.7 million in civil penalties for failing to meet U.S. fuel economy requirements for 2019 and 2020 after paying nearly $400 million for penalties from 2016 through 2019. GM (GM.N), opens new tab paid $128.2 million in such penalties for 2016 and 2017. READ MORE

Excerpt from Ethanol Producer Magazine: But in 2016, new Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards de-incentivized FFVs in favor of electric vehicles. In addition to CAFE standard changes, automakers became frustrated with the slow pace of E85 infrastructure implementation, .... READ MORE

Excerpt from Wall Street Journal: Under the changes, the federal government would require an average of 34½ miles a gallon for vehicles by model year 2031, down from the 50.4 miles a gallon standard set by the Biden administration.

It also does away with a system in which automakers can buy credits from competitors to offset fines, a setup that proved to be a boon for electric-vehicle maker Tesla. READ MORE

Excerpt from Associated Press/2 News Nevada: Trump announced the plan at a White House event that included top executives from the three largest U.S. automakers, who have praised the planned changes. The auto industry has complained that the Biden-era rules were difficult to meet.

Since taking office in January, Trump has relaxed auto tailpipe emissions rules, repealed fines for automakers that do not meet federal mileage standards and terminated consumer credits of up to $7,500 for EV purchases.

Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement that the planned rollback was “a win for customers and common sense.”

“As America’s largest auto producer, we appreciate President Trump’s leadership in aligning fuel economy standards with market realities. We can make real progress on carbon emissions and energy efficiency while still giving customers choice and affordability,” Farley said.

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said the automaker appreciates the administration’s actions to “realign” the standards “with real world market conditions.”

Environmentalists decried the decision.

“In one stroke Trump is worsening three of our nation’s most vexing problems: the thirst for oil, high gas pump costs and global warming,” said Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Transport Campaign for the Center for Biological Diversity.

“Gutting the (gas-mileage) program will make cars burn more gas and American families burn more cash,'' said Katherine García, director of the Sierra Club's Clean Transportation for All program.

“This rollback would move the auto industry backwards, keeping polluting cars on our roads for years to come and threatening the health of millions of Americans, particularly children and the elderly,” she said.

Trump has repeatedly pledged to end what he falsely calls an EV “mandate,” referring incorrectly to Democratic President Joe Biden’s target that half of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030. EVs accounted for about 8% of new vehicle sales in the United States in 2024, according to Cox Automotive.

No federal policy has required auto companies to sell EVs, although California and other states have imposed rules requiring that all new passenger vehicles sold in the state be zero-emission by 2035. Trump and congressional Republicans blocked the California law earlier this year.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urged his agency to reverse existing fuel economy requirements, known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy, soon after taking office. In June, he said that standards set under Biden were illegal because they included use of electric vehicles in their calculation. EVs do not run on gasoline. After the June rule revision, the traffic safety agency was empowered to update the requirements.

Under Biden, automakers were required to average about 50 miles (81 kilometers) per gallon of gas for passenger cars by 2031, compared with about 39 miles (63 kilometers) per gallon today. The Biden administration also increased fuel-economy requirements by 2% each year for light-duty vehicles in every model year from 2027 to 2031, and 2% per year for SUVs and other light trucks from 2029 to 2031. At the same time, it called for stringent tailpipe rules meant to encourage EV adoption.

The 2024 standards would have saved 14 billion gallons of gasoline from being burned by 2050, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2024 calculations. Abandoning them means that in 2035, cars could produce 22,111 more tons of carbon dioxide per year than under the Biden-era rules. It also means an extra 90 tons a year of deadly soot particles and more 4,870 tons a year of smog components nitrogen oxide volatile organic carbons going into the air in coming years.

Mileage rules have been implemented since the 1970s energy crisis, and over time, automakers have gradually increased their vehicles’ average efficiency. READ MORE

Excerpt from Detroit News: Despite that affordability aim, however, it is unclear how strong an impact the new rules will have on the nation's largest retail sector after the Trump administration already worked to roll back other vehicle emission regulations throughout the year.

The auto industry is also facing cost pressures from the president's tariff policies, which will likely raise prices in the short term even if they succeed at reshoring American manufacturing in the long term.

Automakers nevertheless cheered the Wednesday announcement as one that brings forward-looking regulations in line with the "market realities" of a slower-than-hoped-for transition to EVs, continued cost and supply chain issues with electrified powertrains, and Americans' longstanding love for large, gas-powered trucks.

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GM said it "supports the goals of NHTSA’s proposed CAFE rule and its intention to better align fuel economy standards with market realities. We have long advocated for one national standard that upholds customer choice and provides the auto industry long-term stability. As we review the proposal, we remain committed to offering the best and broadest portfolio of electric and gas-powered vehicles on the market.” READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico: The proposal includes a step to prevent future efforts by California to set tougher fuel requirements than those imposed by the federal government

The move comes after a long series of Trump administration efforts to eradicate Biden’s clean energy policies. Those include Trump’s repeal of the $7,500 consumer tax credit for EV purchases, as well as his attacks on California’s ability to set toughest-in-the-nation pollution requirements that had been expected to drive a sharp increase in EV adoption. In their megalaw they passed over the summer, Republicans eliminated any monetary penalties for automakers who don’t comply with fuel efficiency standards.

Trump said Wednesday the move would save consumers around $1,000 on purchases of new cars and get rid of regulations he sees as “anti-economy” and “horrible.” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Biden-era standards were “completely unattainable” and were driving up the costs of cars by forcing auto companies to spend more money on the technology.

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The new standards, released by the Transportation Department on Wednesday, propose to increase the fuel economy in a much more incremental and workable way for automakers. DOT estimates the new rule will up the average vehicle mile per gallon to 34.5 by 2031.

The DOT plan will significantly revise the Biden administration’s approach by removing language that incorporated electric vehicles in judging automakers’ compliance with the standards. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also does not consider performance of plug-in hybrids and compliance credits in the calculation.

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However, easing fuel economy requirements is unlikely to deflate new vehicle prices, especially in the short term. Automakers’ production plans are largely set years in advance, while other factors — including tariffs, supply chain issues, new technologies such as autonomous cars and Americans’ desire for bigger vehicles — play larger roles in sticker shock, according to industry analysts.

Stephanie Brinley, an automotive analyst at S&P Global, said that rolling back the Biden-era efficiency standards might bring down the average price of the overall U.S. passenger vehicle fleet because fewer electric vehicles will be built, meaning that the more expensive part of the fleet will shrink.

But that doesn’t mean that the average American will see car or truck prices fall at the local auto lot, she added. Cutting fuel efficiency standards “will not make internal combustion engine vehicles cheaper than it was in December of last year. It will not make an electric vehicle cheaper than it was in December of last year. The price will not drop.”

Democrats and environmentalists have contended that requiring vehicles to be more fuel-efficient would save money for consumers in the long run by helping them buy less gasoline. The higher standards would have saved drivers a combined $35 billion over the lifetime of a fleet built to the higher specification, the Center for Biological Diversity said, citing the original rule’s calculations.

“The cure for pollution and high gas costs is strong fuel economy standards, not killing them as a favor to the president’s Big Oil, Big Auto and OPEC golf buddies,” said Dan Becker, the director of the group’s Safe Climate Transport Campaign. “Trump’s action will feed America’s destructive use of oil, while hamstringing us in the green tech race against Chinese and other foreign carmakers.”

But Trump’s officials have accused the Biden administration of overstepping by pushing vehicles that consumers don’t want.

The new rulemaking (Reg. 2127-AM76) “seeks to return CAFE programming to its roots of providing for fuel economy standards and energy conservation needs in a way that balances technological and economic factors and can be achieved through traditional gasoline and diesel technology,” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration leader Jonathan Morrison said Tuesday at a conference hosted by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.

Morrison said it was imperative to allow buyers to purchase more affordable cars of their choosing. The average price of a new car went above $50,000 this year, according to Kelley Blue Book, a significant rise from 2020 when the average car price was around $40,000. Erin Keating, an analyst at Cox Automotive, said when the numbers were released in October that costs have risen, in part, due to inflation and tariffs.

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The Environmental Protection Agency has already proposed eradicating a separate Biden administration rule that imposed limits on cars’ and light trucks’ greenhouse gas pollution. That rule is expected to be finalized in the coming months. READ MORE

Excerpt from New York Times:

Mr. Trump, who refers to climate change as a “hoax,” initially promised to repeal the rules to end what he falsely called an “E.V. mandate.” But on Wednesday, Mr. Trump said he was motivated to weaken the rules in order to lower the price of new cars. The cost of living has emerged as major concern for voters and a political vulnerability for the president and his party.

“Perhaps grudgingly, the president is increasingly realizing that inflation, affordability, the economy are real concerns across the partisan spectrum,” said Barry Rabe, a professor emeritus at the University of Michigan.

Left unsaid on Wednesday was the fact that analysts expect the president’s tariffs on cars and car parts to increase the price of automobiles built abroad. The average price of a new car in the United States has now exceeded $50,000 for the first time, according to Kelley Blue Book, an automotive research company. It attributed the increase to tariffs as well as low loan rates and new electric vehicle sales.

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Environmentalists said repealing mileage standards would debilitate efforts in the United States to fight climate change. They also challenged the president's claim that the proposal would lower costs, noting that the efficiency standards have spurred automakers to produce cars that use less gas, saving people money at the pump. READ MORE

Excerpt from E&E Daily: Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), long a champion of the major automakers that call her state home, said the rollback threatens certainty for the industry.

“I think the automobile industry needs certainty. I think they’re tired of being a pingpong ball between administrations. The American industry needs stability,” she told POLITICO’s E&E News.

“All the stakeholders need to be at the table, and we need to not make cars more expensive for people to run. So let’s give stability to the auto industry and not help the oil industry.”

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Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, similarly argued Trump is raising costs for drivers.

“The June 2024 [Corporate Average Fuel Economy] standards lowered costs for Americans at the pump, made our air cleaner and more breathable, and reduced pollution to combat climate change,” said Pallone.

Today’s announcement once again shows the Trump Administration is more concerned with lining the pockets of their polluter friends than providing relief to hardworking Americans.” READ MORE