Fuel-Economy Standards May Get Rolled Back to 34.5 MPG by 2031

Key Points

• The Trump administration has proposed to lower the mandated average fuel-economy standards to 34.5 mpg by the 2031 model year.
• The new Corporate Average Fuel Economy standard rolls back the Biden administration’s target of 50.4 mpg.
• The Trump administration states that the lower fuel-economy standards will help new-vehicle affordability.

Automakers may be breathing a sigh of relief right now, as the Trump Administration has announced major changes to CAFE rules for automakers. The administration has proposed that automakers will now have to meet average fuel-economy standards that are nearly 16 mpg lower than those that the Biden administration put forward.

Related: What Are the Most Fuel-Efficient Cars?

New Rules, Relaxed Averages

• Key Takeaway: New CAFE rules mean automakers don’t have to prioritize fuel economy, which could shake up some automakers’ plans to introduce more electric vehicles and hybrids.

The new mpg averages are a major rollback of Biden-era fuel efficiency standards. In conjunction with then Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the Biden administration put forth rules that said automakers had to meet an average fuel economy rating of 50.4 mpg by 2031, which was down slightly from the standards put forth by the Obama administration in 2015, when it was a 54.5 mpg average by 2025.

Today, the Trump administration has proposed to slash those numbers, saying automakers have to meet an average of just 34.5 mpg by 2031, an average not seen since the early 2010s. In a statement, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Biden rules were illegal and done to “create an electric vehicle mandate.” The new rules also reclassify small SUVs and crossovers as passenger vehicles instead of light trucks.

Misreading the Room

• Key Takeaway: Trump administration officials seem to believe that the stricter CAFE standards were helping to contribute to vehicle unaffordability.

The main reason for the relaxing of fuel-economy standards seems to be a misinterpretation of vehicle affordability. Trump and other officials have argued that the Biden-era fuel-economy rules have contributed to vehicle unaffordability because they prioritized an EV mandate and that the features and technology that go into vehicles to make them more fuel-efficient are adding unnecessary costs. Meanwhile, the administration seems to also be ignoring one of the main drivers of increasing vehicle prices: tariffs.

The loosening of fuel-economy rules also looks to hurt American finances even more; the original rules would have saved Americans over $35.2 billion in fuel costs, an expense that will surely rise as automakers sidestep fuel efficiency.

Automakers Celebrating the Change 

• Key Takeaway: Automakers such as Stellantis and GM embraced the new rules and were even present for the president’s announcement of the change.

Automakers are seemingly celebrating the change, with representatives from GM and Stellantis present at the White House when it was announced today. The new rules are the end of a fight that started in 2019 when both automakers — along with Toyota and 10 other automakers in a group that was called the Coalition for Sustainable Automotive Regulation — sided with the first Trump administration in a legal battle over California setting emissions and fuel-economy rules. California later reached an agreement with just four automakers for fuel-efficiency and emissions standards for vehicles from model-years 2022-26. Stellantis’ CEO Antonio Filosa called the new rules a win for consumers, saying that these new policies will “allow us to offer our customers the freedom to choose the vehicles they want at prices they can afford.”

Read More Fuel Economy and Affordability News on Cars.com:

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• What’s the Most Fuel-Efficient SUV?
• How Much Does a Hybrid Save on Fuel Compared to Its Gas Equivalent?
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