According to industry insiders, the Trump administration will propose a significant reduction in the fuel economy standards set by former President Biden last year. This move is the latest step by Trump to repeal his predecessor's so-called "electric vehicle mandate," which will open the door for American automakers to sell gasoline-powered vehicles.
The Trump administration will significantly lower fuel efficiency standards.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is expected to propose this week a significant reduction in fuel economy requirements for vehicles manufactured between 2022 and 2031. President Trump is expected to announce the plan at a White House event on Wednesday, Eastern Time, in which executives from the Big Three automakers will also be present.
Earlier this year, Trump signed a bill to end fuel economy penalties for automakers, and the NHTSA stated that these automakers would not have to pay penalties starting with 2022 model years.
Last June, during the Biden administration, the NHTSA raised the "corporate average fuel economy" standard for light-duty vehicles, requiring passenger cars and trucks to improve fuel efficiency from 39.1 mpg (or 21.4 km/L) to approximately 50.4 mpg (or 21.4 km/L) by 2031. This regulation did not raise the fuel economy standard for 2027 and 2028 model year light-duty trucks, but instead required a 2% annual increase from 2029 to 2031 model years.
At the time, the NHTSA stated that the regulation, primarily targeting passenger cars and trucks, would reduce gasoline consumption by 64 billion gallons and emissions by 659 million tons, resulting in a net benefit of approximately $35.2 billion for drivers by lowering fuel costs.
Trump has canceled several carbon reduction policies.
Since taking office, Trump has taken a series of measures to reverse the Biden administration’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions, including canceling the electric vehicle tax credit and lifting the ban on the sale of conventional gasoline-powered vehicles in California after 2035.
Trump's move made it easier for American automakers to sell gasoline-powered cars and suppressed the production of electric vehicles.
As a well-known "climate skeptic," Trump has previously criticized the Biden administration's fuel economy standards for "artificially inflating" new car prices, making them unaffordable for many Americans.
Last year, Chrysler's parent company, Stellantis, paid a $190.7 million fine for its 2019 and 2020 models failing to meet U.S. fuel economy requirements. Previously, the company had also paid nearly $4 billion in fines for models manufactured between 2016 and 2019. (General Motors ) Therefore, $128.2 million in such fines were paid for violations related to the 2016 and 2017 models.
However, some foreign media outlets have criticized Trump's policy easing, saying that the hundreds of billions of dollars in fuel savings that the Biden administration had originally expected to save for the American people have been "added back." Meanwhile, American automakers (especially Stellantis) can avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in fines, at the cost of increased fuel costs for consumers and the potential for higher fuel prices.
(Article source: CLS)
