US to announce sharply lower vehicle fuel economy requirements

The ​Trump administration will soon announce sharply lower vehicle ​fuel-economy standards, reversing a push by the ‌prior ​administration to force automakers to build more fuel-efficient vehicles, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday. Under Republican President Donald Trump, the federal government has not detailed the final ‌standard, but automakers expect it to be similar to a December proposal from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That proposed a fleetwide average of 34.5 miles per gallon (14.7 km per liter) by 2031, down from 50.4 miles per gallon (21.4 ‌km per liter) under former President Joe Biden, a Democrat.

"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 at an appearance in Michigan. Biden focused on reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use, accelerating a transition to clean energy ⁠and making the ​U.S. a global leader in ⁠clean-energy technology and manufacturing.

NHTSA in December proposed retroactively revising down the 2022 fuel economy standard and then raising it between 0.25% and 0.5% ⁠annually through 2031. Biden increased required fuel efficiency for cars by 8% annually for model years 2024 and 2025, 10% for 2026 ​and 2% annually from 2027 to 2031. Automakers get future compliance credits for achieving higher-than-required efficiency in prior ⁠model years, so the Trump administration's retroactive change to 2022 will make it easier for the companies to meet future fuel standards.

Biden's rules ⁠sought ​to prod automakers to build more electric vehicles to meet the rising fuel-efficiency standards. NHTSA estimated its proposal would cut new vehicle costs by $930 each. But it would increase fuel consumption by around 100 billion gallons ⁠through 2050, fuel spending by $185 billion and carbon dioxide emissions by about 5%.

Congress decided in 2025 to no longer collect ⁠penalties for failure to meet ⁠vehicle fuel economy standards, saving automakers hundreds of millions of dollars, and ended $7,500 tax breaks for consumers who buy EVs. It also rescinded California's authority to outlaw gasoline-powered vehicles ‌by 2035, a move ‌the state is challenging.