New fuel economy rules will drive down car prices, White House says
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Traffic in Los Angeles in 2023. Photo: Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
President Trump's newly proposed fuel economy standards would roll back tough Biden-era targets that were intended to cut emissions and promote electric cars.
The big picture: Trump has been tearing up Biden administration policies he believes were intended to force EVs on Americans, and framed his latest plan as a common-sense strategy to make cars more affordable.
- "Today, we're taking one more step to kill the green new scam," Trump said at a White House event Wednesday.
- "And it's a quest to end the gasoline-powered car. This is what they wanted to do. Even though we have more gasoline than any other country by far, and people want the gasoline car."
By the numbers: Trump's proposal would require automakers to hit an average of 34.5 miles per gallon across their fleets by 2031.
- That's significantly lower than the Biden-era target of 50 mpg, which would require lots of EV sales.
- The White House says American families will save $1,000 on the average cost of a new vehicle, which already tops $50,000.
Zoom in: Automakers praised Trump's policies as more realistic than Biden's.
- "We appreciate President Trump's leadership in aligning fuel economy standards with market realities," said Ford CEO Jim Farley, who joined Trump at the White House with other auto execs.
The other side: Environmental and clean-energy groups condemned the move.
- "The only thing this does is make it easier for manufacturers to sell us less efficient cars that require more gas — and more money to fill up. That's a good thing if you're in the oil business, but not if you're in any other business," Bob Keefe, executive director of the environmental business group E2, said in a statement.
Catch up quick: This is the second time Trump has rolled back aggressive standards put forth by Democratic administrations.
- In his first term, Trump eased the fuel economy standards that President Barack Obama put in place.
- Biden later tightened the CAFE standards even more, which many industry experts said could only be met if carmakers sold large numbers of electric vehicles.
- Republicans labeled the new rules as essentially an "EV mandate."
Since his return to the Oval Office, Trump has revoked most of those policies.
What's next: Environmentalists are almost certain to challenge the new standards in court.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional comments from Trump and Ford's Jim Farley.
