President Trump on Wednesday announced plans to weaken the auto industry, easing regulatory pressure on automakers to curb pollution from gas-powered cars and trucks.
If the plan is finalized next year, it would significantly reduce fuel efficiency requirements, which govern how far new cars must travel on a gallon of gas, through the 2031 model year. The rule will increase Americans’ access to all types of gas-powered vehicles they need and can afford, officials said. The administration projects the new standards will set the industry-wide average mileage for light duty vehicles for the 2031 model year at about 34.5 miles per gallon.
The move is the latest step by the Trump administration to roll back Biden-era policies that encouraged clean-running cars and trucks, including electric vehicles. Combustion of gasoline for vehicles is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. The Republican administration says the new rules will give Americans more access to the full range of gas-powered vehicles they need and can afford.
President Trump announced the plan at a White House event attended by executives from the three major U.S. automakers and praised the planned changes. The auto industry has complained that it will be difficult to meet the Biden administration-era rules.
Since taking office in January, President Trump has loosened vehicle emissions regulations, eliminated fines for automakers that don’t meet federal mileage standards, and suspended up to $7,500 in consumer credits for EV purchases.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement Wednesday that the planned downsizing is a “win for customers and common sense.”
“As America’s largest automobile producer, we are grateful for President Trump’s leadership in aligning fuel efficiency standards with market realities. We can make real progress on carbon emissions and energy efficiency while providing customers with choice and affordability,” said Farley.
Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said the company appreciated the government’s actions to “recalibrate” the standards.
Environmental activists condemned the decision.
“President Trump is exacerbating three of our nation’s most vexing problems in one fell swoop: our hunger for oil, the high cost of gas pumps, and global warming,” said Dan Becker, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Safe Climate Transportation Campaign.
“President Trump’s actions will accelerate America’s destructive use of oil while holding us back in the green technology race with China and other foreign automakers,” Becker said.
President Trump has repeatedly promised to end what he mistakenly calls an EV “mandate,” incorrectly referring to Democratic President Joe Biden’s goal of making half of all new car sales EVs by 2030. According to Cox Automotive, EVs will account for about 8% of new car sales in the U.S. in 2024.
Although there is no federal policy requiring car companies to sell EVs, California and other states have imposed rules requiring all new passenger cars sold in the state to be zero-emissions by 2035. Mr. Trump and Republicans in Congress blocked the California law earlier this year.
Shortly after taking office, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asked the department to repeal existing fuel economy requirements, known as corporate average fuel economy. He said in June that the standards set under the Biden administration were illegal because they included the use of electric vehicles in their calculations. EVs don’t run on gasoline. After the rule was revised in June, the Traffic Safety Bureau was given the authority to update the requirements.
Under the Biden administration, automakers had hoped to achieve about 50 miles per gallon of gas for passenger cars by 2031, but now it’s about 39 miles per gallon.
The Biden administration also increased fuel economy requirements for light vehicles by 2% each year for each model year from 2027 to 2031, and by 2% each year from 2029 to 2031 for SUVs and other light trucks. At the same time, it called for strict tailpipe regulations aimed at promoting the spread of EVs.
The auto industry has complained that meeting both Biden-era rules will be difficult.
Mileage regulations have been in place since the energy crisis of the 1970s, and automakers have gradually improved the average efficiency of their vehicles over time.
Daley and St. John contributed to The Associated Press. St. John reported from Detroit. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
