Trump rolls back Biden fuel-efficiency rules, claiming $1,300 average savings for cars

The department announced Monday that it has finalized a rule that would overturn the Biden administration’s corporate average fuel economy standards. The Trump administration has criticized these rules as being an overly costly effort to prop up EVs in the name of combating climate change.“While Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg pushed a green agenda that made our roads less safe and drove up costs for hardworking Americans, this administration is delivering relief to families and reviving the beating heart of American manufacturing,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a press release. “With our commonsense standards in place, we are making the American dream affordable again, putting safer cars on the road, and investing in the American autoworker,” he added.The CAFE standards require automakers to meet fuel-efficiency targets for all cars and light trucks to help reduce energy consumption, cost, and emissions.The Biden administration fuel economy standards would result in light-duty vehicles reaching an average of 50.4 mpg by model year 2031. They also allow automakers to improve their fleet’s fuel-economy average by manufacturing more electric vehicles and hybrids.However, the Trump administration’s final rule would achieve a fleet-average fuel economy of 34.9 mpg by model year 2031, far down from the 50.4 mpg envisioned under the Biden rules. It would also scrap a trading program that was scheduled to begin in 2028 that would effectively allow electric vehicle makers to sell credits to other manufacturers who fell short of meeting the fuel efficiency requirements.The rollback will reduce the average cost of a new vehicle by $1,300 and provide automakers the flexibility to manufacture cars that buyers want, according to the DOT.Department officials also said that it would eliminate the incentives for automakers to classify vehicles as light trucks, rather than cars, to face less stringent efficiency rules. It is estimated that the new standards would lead to the mix of new vehicles to flip from 70% light trucks to 70% passenger cars.The final rule comes as the Trump administration is facing high gas prices and record-breaking diesel prices ahead of the midterm elections.Environmental groups have argued that weakening these standards will result in consumers spending more on gas.TIM SCOTT AND RAPHAEL WARNOCK UNVEIL BILL TO STRENGTHEN CRITICAL MINERAL SUPPLY CHAIN“Less fuel-efficient cars mean more gas burned, spending more at the pump, and dirtier air in our communities,” Sierra Club Clean Transportation for All Director Katherine Garcia said in a statement.“Americans need relief from high costs, but instead Trump is giving automakers a free pass on pollution and handing families the bill – at the pump and with their health,” she added.