President Trump said Saturday he approved new fuel-economy standards but gave no technical details. A federal estimate put the U.S. fleet at about 34.5 mpg by model year 2031 under his administration’s December proposal, versus roughly 50.4 mpg under Biden-era standards.
Trump’s administration described Biden-era rules as an effective “EV mandate,” but the Biden administration did not require Americans to buy electric vehicles; its fuel-economy and separate tailpipe-emissions rules were designed on the assumption that EVs would make up a growing share of new-vehicle sales. Trump’s administration estimated the proposal would save $109 billion over five years and lower the average new-vehicle price by nearly $1,000 compared with Biden-era standards. Critics disputed the cost assumptions and argued weaker efficiency requirements could leave drivers spending more on gasoline.
Trump has also pursued other rollbacks: legislation he signed in July 2025 reduced the civil penalty for violating fuel-economy standards to $0, and he signed a law blocking California’s plan to phase out sales of new gasoline-only vehicles by 2035. GM and Ford have announced billions in U.S. investments; Stellantis announced a $13 billion plan it says will expand U.S. production by 50%. Automakers cited tariffs, consumer demand and federal EV-policy shifts among factors behind individual investment decisions.
