US to finalize sharply lower vehicle fuel economy standards
WASHINGTON: The US Transportation Department on Monday will finalize sharply lower vehicle fuel economy standards through 2031, reversing a push by the Biden administration to force automakers to build more electric vehicles, officials said on Saturday. President Donald Trump said he had approved new fuel economy standards for cars and trucks, which he said will lower the price of new vehicles.…
The US Transportation Department is set to announce on Monday significantly reduced fuel economy standards for vehicles through 2031, a move that marks a reversal of the Biden administration's efforts to promote electric vehicles. President Donald Trump had approved these new standards, claiming they would lower the cost of new vehicles.
However, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy emphasized that the new standards would lower vehicle prices but would also result in increased fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions for decades, according to the department's estimates.
This decision comes as American drivers are facing higher fuel prices since the onset of the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran in late February. During the tenure of Democratic President Joe Biden, the government aimed to encourage automakers to produce more electric vehicles to meet increasing fuel-efficiency requirements. The administration had been raising the required fuel efficiency for cars by 8% annually since 2024, 10% for 2026, and 2% annually from 2027 to 2031.
In December, the Trump administration proposed revising down the 2022 model year fuel economy standard retroactively and then increasing it between 0.25% and 0.5% annually through 2031. The Transportation Department subsequently proposed an average fleetwide fuel economy of 34.5 miles per gallon (14.7 km per liter) by 2031, a decrease from 50.4 miles per gallon (21.4 km per liter) under Biden's administration.
The department estimated that its proposal would reduce the average cost of new vehicles by $930 each but would lead to increased fuel consumption by around 100 billion gallons through 2050, higher fuel spending of $185 billion, and a 5% increase in carbon dioxide emissions. Trump's move is expected to facilitate automakers' ability to sell consumers less fuel-efficient vehicles, according to Pete Buttigieg, who previously headed the Transportation Department under Biden.
Biden's administration had prioritized reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel consumption, accelerating a transition to clean energy, and positioning the US as a global leader in clean-energy technology and manufacturing.
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