US Moves to Repeal Biden Administration Vehicle Fuel Economy Standards

by David Shepardson (Reuters) New U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy signed an order on Tuesday directing U.S. regulators to rescind landmark fuel economy standards issued under President Joe Biden that aimed to drastically reduce fuel use for cars and trucks.

In a memo, Duffy directed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to reconsider the 2022 model year through 2031 model years for cars and trucks.

The agency in June said it would hike Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements to about 50.4 miles per gallon (4.67 liters per 100 km) by 2031 from 39.1 mpg currently for light-duty vehicles.

Duffy, who took office late Tuesday, also directed NHTSA to reconsider rules for heavy duty pickup trucks and vans through 2035.

"Artificially high fuel economy standards designed to meet non-statutory policy goals, such as those NHTSA has promulgated in recent years, impose large costs that render many vehicle models unaffordable for the average American family," Duffy's memo said. "They also put coercive pressure on automakers to phase out production of various models of popular (internal combustion engine) vehicles."

A group representing General Motors (GM.N), Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), Toyota (7203.T), and other major automakers had no immediate comment.

The announcement is the latest move by the Trump administration to rescind efforts by the Biden administration to boost electric vehicles. The Environmental Protection Agency also plans to reconsider parallel vehicle emissions rules and rescind California's waiver to ban sales of gas-only vehicles by 2035.

The Biden administration set CAFE standards that were not as stringent as it first proposed. NHTSA had proposed boosting CAFE requirements by 2% per year for passenger cars and 4% per year for light trucks from 2027 through 2032. The final rule had no increase for light trucks for 2027 and 2028 and required 2% increases from 2029 through 2031.

NHTSA said in June the rule for passenger cars and trucks would reduce gasoline consumption by 64 billion gallons and cut emissions by 659 million metric tons. The agency said while some vehicles would be more expensive to buy, consumers would save on fuel costs and estimated net benefits of $35.2 billion. READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico Pro Energywire: President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders could reduce the market share of electric vehicles 28 percent by the end of the decade compared to earlier forecasts, according to a new report.

The analysis from Wood Mackenzie is one of the first projections of how the president’s policies would affect EVs, which were singled out in the policy section of the president’s “Unleashing American Energy” plan. In that order, Trump called for eliminating subsidies and emissions waivers that could boost the technology.

According to the report, the orders and related administration policies could lower the adoption rate of EVs so they make up 23 percent of sales by 2030, rather than an earlier estimated 32 percent.

“The wide-ranging changes will affect everything from subsidies for consumers to funding for EV charging stations,” the report says.

The analysis considers Trump’s push to end the Biden administration’s “EV mandate,” referring to EPA rules to cut tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA rules did not mandate EVs, but would in effect require automakers make more of their vehicles electric every year. Wood Mackenzie also considered Trump’s push to repeal incentives such as a $7,500 tax credit for new EV purchases. READ MORE