Automotive News: U.S. Rescinds Biden’s Fuel Economy Standards
New U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy signed an order on Tuesday directing U.S. regulators to rescind landmark fuel economy standards issued under President Joe Biden that aimed to drastically reduce fuel use for cars and trucks.
In a memo, opens new tab, Duffy directed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to reconsider the 2022 model year through 2031 model years for cars and trucks.
Per a report from Reuters, the current Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards stipulate an average fuel economy for light duty vehicles of 50.4 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2031, a significant increase from 39.1 mpg proposed earlier.
The proposed rollback is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to shift away from government support for all-electric vehicles. Additionally, Duffy has instructed the NHTSA to reevaluate fuel economy standards for heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans through 2035.
The new Transportation Secretary cites concerns that regulations are making vehicles more expensive for American families.
“Artificially high fuel economy standards designed to meet non-statutory policy goals, such as those NHTSA has promulgated in recent years, impose large costs that render many vehicle models unaffordable for the average American family,” Duffy states in the memo.
“They also put coercive pressure on automakers to phase out production of various models of popular (internal combustion engine) vehicles.”
The proposed fuel economy rollback aligns with broader efforts by the Trump administration to undo Biden-era policies promoting electric vehicles and emissions reductions. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is also in the process of reviewing emissions standards, including the potential revocation of California’s authority to ban gas-powered vehicle sales by 2035.
While the rollback is expected to provide relief for automakers prioritizing traditional gas-powered models, particularly full-size SUVs and trucks, it also introduces a degree of uncertainty for manufacturers that have heavily invested in EVs to comply with previous regulations – including woke Cadillac that has already announced the cancellation of almost all of its ICE-powered vehicles and has announced zero hybrid models.
In fact, the Cadillac XT5 has been redesigned in China by GM engineers and made into a hybrid model. It is now a handsome vehicle but woke GM refuses to make them for the American market.
It will be their undoing.
