Trump approves new fuel economy standards, rolling back Biden-era rules

September 27, 2026 at 03:02 AM1 min

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President Donald Trump said on Saturday he approved new fuel economy standards, reversing former President Joe Biden's stricter policies meant to fuel electric vehicle adoption. The final standards have not yet been publicly detailed, but Trump presented the change as a boon for automakers and consumers.

Key Facts

Under Biden-era standards, automakers would have had to increase fuel efficiency of passenger cars and light trucks to roughly 50 miles per gallon by 2031.
Trump said the new standards will mean lower prices, saving families thousands on a new car.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy previously said the final standards would be sharply lower than the Biden-era policies.
Weaker fuel economy standards allow automakers to produce more profitable pickup trucks and SUVs, which have worse gas mileage.

Policy Reversal

President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he approved new fuel economy standards, reversing former President Joe Biden's stricter policies. The Biden-era standards would have required automakers to increase fuel efficiency of passenger cars and light trucks to roughly 50 miles per gallon by 2031. The stricter standards were designed to incentivize electric vehicle production and sales in the U.S. Trump presented the policy change as a boon for both automakers and consumers, though the final standards have not yet been publicly detailed.

Industry Impact

Weaker fuel economy standards mean automakers can produce more pickup trucks and SUVs, which are much more profitable than smaller cars but have worse gas mileage. Electric vehicles become much less attractive to automakers under the new rules, although some companies like General Motors have said they will still make them. Trump said every manufacturer, from General Motors to Ford to Stellantis, has called him wanting to build in the U.S.