Traffic conditions on Interstate 80 on Wednesday, November 26, 2025 in San Pablo, California, USA.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Wednesday proposed sharply lowering strict fuel efficiency standards for passenger cars enacted under the Biden administration.
“I’m officially repealing Joe Biden’s incredibly burdensome, in fact, frightening and costly restrictive cafe standards,” Trump said in the Oval Office. ford motor and Stellantis.
Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards date back to 1975 and have been tightened over the years to make vehicles more efficient.
Former President Joe Biden has called on automakers to increase the fuel efficiency of cars and light trucks to about 50 miles per gallon by 2031. These strict standards were expected to stimulate production and sales of electric vehicles in the United States.
The Trump administration’s proposed standards would require cars to get about 34 miles per gallon by 2031, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Since taking office, President Trump has sought to eliminate pollution regulations and federal support for electric vehicles and renewable energy.
The American Petroleum Institute, an oil industry group, has lobbied the Trump administration to repeal President Biden’s fuel efficiency standards, saying it aims to phase out liquid-fuel vehicles.
The announcement was attended by Ford CEO Jim Farley and Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa, as well as Ford plant managers. general motors Originally from Michigan.
Ford CEO Jim Farley and Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa listen to U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of new fuel economy standards in the Oval Office of the White House on December 3, 2025 in Washington, DC.
brian snyder reuter
Many attendees, including U.S. dealers, said the new standards are more in line with the cars customers want to buy, rather than the more expensive cars that automakers are forced to produce by regulations.
Trump and other officials also touted the new regulations as supporting vehicle affordability, an ongoing concern for the auto industry. This is because the average purchase price of a new car is hovering around $50,000.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry group representing the majority of automakers operating in the United States, also praised the cuts.
“We have been reviewing NHTSA’s announcement and are pleased that NHTSA has proposed new fuel efficiency standards,” John Bozella, the group’s CEO, said in a statement. “We have been clear and consistent. The current CAFE rules, finalized under the previous administration, are extremely difficult for automakers to achieve given the current EV market.”
U.S. EV giant Tesla did not respond to requests for comment on lowering standards.
—CNBC’s Phil LeBeau and Lora Kolodny contributed to this report.
