President Donald J. Trump announced a major rollback of the Biden Administration’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, calling the move a relief for American families facing rising costs.
The reset lowers fuel economy requirements for passenger cars and trucks to levels achievable with conventional gasoline and diesel vehicles. The Biden-era standards, Trump argued, set targets so aggressive they effectively mandated a shift to electric vehicles (EVs) and imposed significant cost burdens on consumers.
“Today’s action represents an enormous win for American families,” the Trump administration said in a statement. “If left unchanged, the Biden standards would have raised the average cost of a new car by nearly $1,000. This reset is projected to save Americans $109 billion over the next five years.”
The administration also highlighted public safety benefits, noting that helping more Americans afford newer, safer vehicles could prevent more than 1,500 deaths and nearly 250,000 serious injuries through 2050.
The CAFE reset is part of a broader effort by President Trump to counter policies that, his administration says, increase the cost of living. In June, Trump signed a resolution ending California’s EV mandates, which would have effectively banned the sale of new gasoline vehicles in the state by 2035. In July, the Working Families Tax Cuts Act set civil penalties for violating CAFE standards to zero, easing compliance costs for U.S. automakers.
“The Biden standards broke the law by going far beyond what Congress intended when it created the CAFE program,” the statement said. “This reset ensures the program aligns with Congressional intent while protecting American consumers and automakers.”
The administration emphasized that these changes, combined with incentives such as auto loan interest deductibility for U.S.-made vehicles, are designed to make car ownership more affordable, maintain safety standards, and shield consumers from costly, infeasible fuel economy mandates.