Trump Administration to Unveil Looser Fuel Economy Standards for Cars and Light Trucks

The Trump administration is preparing to release revised fuel economy standards on Monday that would ease the regulatory burden on automakers selling gasoline-powered cars and light trucks, according to plans outlined by officials.

President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Saturday that the less stringent mileage requirements would "take the waste out of building cars in America" and save families "thousands on a new, beautiful and safe car," while boosting domestic auto production. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed on X the same day that the changes would be announced Monday. The White House, the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration could not immediately be reached for comment on the specifics.

Last December, NHTSA projected that the new standards would set the industry fleetwide average for light-duty vehicles at roughly 34.5 miles per gallon in the 2031 model year, down from a projected 50.4 mpg in 2031 under rules established by the Biden administration. Fuel economy requirements determine how far new vehicles must travel on a gallon of gasoline.

The move advances Trump's pledge to revoke policies that encouraged or created incentives for electric vehicle production. Since taking office, he has relaxed auto tailpipe emissions rules, repealed fines for automakers that fail to meet federal mileage standards, and terminated consumer credits of up to $7,500 for EV purchases. Trump has repeatedly vowed to end what he falsely calls an EV "mandate," referring incorrectly to President Joe Biden's target that half of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030. No federal policy has mandated that automakers sell EVs. According to Edmunds, EVs accounted for 6.5% of new vehicle sales in February, down from 7.4% for all of 2025.

The administration and automakers have said the new rules will expand Americans' access to the full range of gasoline vehicles they need and can afford. General Motors, Stellantis and Ford Motor, maker of the top-selling F-150 pickup, could not be immediately reached for comment.

The revised standards drew immediate criticism from environmentalists. Dan Becker, director of the Center for Biological Diversity's Safe Climate Transport Campaign, said the final rule "ignores the feasibility of clean technology and the millions of fuel-efficient cars already on the road." He added that consumers would pay the price for "these reckless rollbacks" while oil and auto industry allies reap short-term profits. Katherine García, director of the Sierra Club's Clean Transportation for All campaign, said the group would fight the rule, arguing that loosening fuel standards would "make driving more expensive too" and lead to more gas burned, higher spending at the pump and dirtier air.

When the 2024 standards took effect, NHTSA estimated they would save 14 billion gallons of gasoline from being burned by 2050, and said that while fuel-efficient vehicles cost more up front, gasoline savings over a vehicle's lifetime would more than offset that. Without the standards, cars in 2035 could produce 22,111 more tons of carbon dioxide per year than under the Biden-era rules, along with an extra 90 tons a year of soot particles and 4,870 additional tons a year of smog components such as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds.

The timing of the rollback comes as the average new car in America sold for $50,089 in August, crossing the $50,000 mark for the first time since last December, according to Kelley Blue Book. At the same time, Americans are spending more on gas as Washington's conflict with Iran disrupts global fuel flows. The national average price for a gallon of gas was $4.47 on Sunday, up from $4.09 a month earlier, according to AAA.

Mileage standards, known as the corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE, have been in place since the 1970s energy crisis, and automakers have gradually improved their vehicles' average efficiency over time.