The Trump administration is preparing to ease federal fuel economy rules for cars and trucks, undoing stricter requirements adopted under former President Joe Biden.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday that the administration would soon release the new standards, which are expected to significantly lower the mileage targets automakers must meet.
A proposal issued by NHTSA in December projected a combined industrywide average of roughly 34.5 mpg for passenger cars and light trucks by model year 2031, down from approximately 50.4 mpg under Biden-era rules.
Speaking in Michigan, Duffy said the administration wants Detroit manufacturers to produce vehicles based on consumer demand instead of federal mandates.
“We are about to announce a common-sense fuel economy standard because we want Detroit to build cars that Americans want to buy — not cars that Democrats want Washington to build,” Duffy said.
The December proposal would also lower the standard previously set for 2022 and require only small annual increases of between 0.25 percent and 0.5 percent through 2031.
Under Biden, the required efficiency increases were eight percent a year for model years 2024 and 2025, followed by ten percent in 2026 and two percent annually from 2027 through 2031. Those rules were intended in part to encourage automakers to sell more electric vehicles.
Changing the 2022 requirement could also give manufacturers additional compliance credits that may be used to satisfy future standards.
NHTSA estimated that the relaxed rules would reduce the price of a new vehicle by about $930. The agency also projected they would result in roughly 100 billion more gallons of fuel being used through 2050, increase fuel costs by $185 billion and raise carbon dioxide emissions by about five percent.
Congress also acted in 2025 to eliminate fines for automakers that miss federal mileage requirements. Lawmakers ended the $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric vehicles and revoked California’s permission to prohibit the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles beginning in 2035. California is challenging that decision.
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