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President Trump, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, auto execs, and others addressed the nation from the White House today to announce plans for rolling back the near-future automaker fuel economy standards set in place by the Biden Administration. The American auto industry, and the cars you can buy here in the coming years, will be affected in a huge way. As a result of Wednesday’s announcement, fleet fuel mileage averages for automakers must now total just 34.5 mpg by 2031 rather than the previously set 50.4 mpg.
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards refer to an “average” mpg rating an automaker gets across its lineup. The idea is, basically, if a brand makes vehicles that use a lot of fuel, it should also make cars that are efficient. Such standards have existed since the ’70s, were significantly updated during the Obama administration, rolled back during Trump’s first term, made more environmentally ambitious again during Biden’s administration, and are now slated to be gutted.
Under Trump’s direction, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is now proposing to reduce the fuel economy requirements from model years 2022 to 2031, making the CAFE requirement 34.5 miles per gallon on average by 2031, instead of 50.4 miles per gallon for that year as it was planned to be.
Previous fuel economy targets. US Department of Energy
As wild as those numbers sound, any change to CAFE regs at this point almost doesn’t matter, since part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that passed this summer eliminated penalties for automakers that missed targets. CAFE changes will, however, make it more difficult to improve our national fuel economy averages in the future.
The government also wants to end some automaker credits for fuel-saving features, and eliminate credit trading among automakers (the system where companies with a low- or no-tailpipe pollution lineup, like EV brands, could essentially sell carbon credits to other automakers) in 2028.
Trump’s messaging revolves around this policy change leading to reduced car prices for consumers. I guess the thinking there is that automakers can charge less for cars since they no longer have to bother with R&D on pollution reduction. My guess is they’ll be happy to save that development money and not bother reducing car prices, but the White House’s official claims are as follows:
- “If President Trump had done nothing, the Biden standards would have raised the average cost of a new car by nearly $1,000, relative to the cost under the standards announced today.”
- “President Trump’s actions will save American families $109 billion in total over the next five years.”
- “By helping more Americans buy newer, safer vehicles, this reset is projected to save more than 1,500 lives and prevent nearly a quarter-million serious injuries through 2050.”
How exactly those numbers were calculated or how they’ll be achieved was not specified in the president’s video address or the press release.
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Automotive journalist since 2013, Andrew primarily coordinates features, sponsored content, and multi-departmental initiatives at The Drive.
