US president Donald Trump's administration on Monday, 29 September finalized a rule that weakens fuel-economy standards for cars and pickup trucks, further dismantling earlier policies that had supported sales of electric vehicles and hybrids.
The new standards will require cars and trucks to achieve an average fuel economy of 34.9 miles/USG by model year 2031, down from a standard of 50.4 miles/USG that former-president Joe Biden had set in 2024. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the revised standards will cut the price of a new vehicle by about $1,300.
The prior standards would have "forced Americans into cars they never wanted, and wasted Billions on Chargers that were never built", Trump said in a social media post Sunday after giving final approval to the rollback.
Despite the upfront savings on the vehicle price, drivers will end up paying an extra $1,300-$1,600 on fuel over the lifespan of the vehicles sold through model year 2031 because of the rollback, according to NHTSA, translating to 738mn bl of additional fuel consumption. Democrats said weakening existing rules will mean higher fuel prices in the future.
"Gas prices are at near-record highs and Trump's response is to force you to get fewer miles out of every tank of gas," California governor Gavin Newsom (D) said in a social media post over the weekend.
The Republican-led US Congress had already effectively nullified NHTSA's fuel-economy standards last year, when they voted to eliminate all non-compliance penalties on automakers. Congress in the same law also repealed a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles.
Separately, the Trump administration earlier this year repealed all climate regulations for cars and trucks, while blocking California's ability to enforce clean car standards that would have encouraged a switch to electric vehicles. Critics say those combined policies could allow Chinese automakers to take market share from the US on the production of electric vehicles.
