DOT finalizes CAFE rollback; ~34.9 mpg path replaces Biden 50.4 mpg target
Transportation officials finalized looser national fuel-economy standards for cars on Monday. The new path aims near 34.9 mpg by 2031, down from about 50.4 mpg under prior Biden-era rules.
The U.S. Department of Transportation on Monday finalized a rollback of Biden-era corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for cars and light trucks. Washington Examiner and The Guardian both report the Monday announcement under Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's "Freedom Means Affordable Cars" frame. Duffy said the prior rules pushed a costly green agenda; the new package, he argued, delivers relief to families, safer cars, and a stronger U.S. autoworker base.
Examiner reporting on the final rule says the Trump path would achieve a fleet-average fuel economy of about 34.9 miles per gallon by model year 2031 — far below the roughly 50.4 mpg Biden-era 2031 projection that overnight Associated Press previews had also flagged near 34.5 mpg from NHTSA's December path. The Monday rule also scraps a credit-trading program that had been scheduled to begin in 2028, under which EV makers could sell credits to manufacturers that missed efficiency targets. DOT projects the rewrite will cut the average cost of a new vehicle by about $1,300 and reverse incentives that steered models into the light-truck category for softer targets.
CAFE has shaped U.S. vehicle design since the 1970s energy crisis. Monday's package continues a broader second-term rewrite of auto climate policy: relaxed tailpipe rules, repealed fines for missing mileage targets, and an end to the up-to-$7,500 consumer EV tax credit. No federal law forced automakers to sell only electric cars; Trump has repeatedly attacked what he calls an EV "mandate," referring to prior sales targets. Edmunds data cited in the overnight AP package put EVs at 6.5% of new sales in February, down from 7.4% for all of 2025. Kelley Blue Book put the average new-car transaction price above $50,000 in August, while AAA had the national average gallon near $4.47 on Sunday amid Iran-war fuel disruption.
Environmental and public-health groups condemned the final rule. The Center for Biological Diversity's Dan Becker said it ignores clean-technology feasibility and hits consumers "at the worst possible time" for pump prices. The Sierra Club's Katherine García vowed a fight, arguing less-efficient cars mean more gas burned and dirtier community air. The American Lung Association's Harold Wimmer said weaker standards will create more air pollution and harm health, citing children's vulnerability to traffic pollution. Automakers have long sought rules that keep a full mix of gasoline models affordable; green groups say drivers will pay more over a vehicle's life at the pump.
Where outlets agree Washington Examiner and The Guardian agree the Transportation Department announced Monday that it has finalized a looser CAFE rule reversing Biden-era mileage targets.
Where they differ DOT and Duffy cast the rule as about $1,300 lower new-vehicle costs and an end to EV-driving mandates; Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, and the American Lung Association say families will burn more fuel and breathe dirtier air. Examiner cites a ~34.9 mpg 2031 fleet average; earlier AP previews used a ~34.5 mpg December projection.