Trump says he is rolling back Biden-era US fuel economy rules for cars

President Donald Trump said he will replace vehicle fuel economy standards adopted under President Joe Biden, announcing on social media that his administration will "TERMINATE" what he labelled an "EV mandate." Trump argued the revised rules will lower new-car prices and reduce costs for families, but he did not provide the specific standards his administration will implement. The Transportation Department, reposting the president’s announcement, said a formal notice would be coming Monday. The policies at issue are Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, a program Congress created in 1975 that sets average fuel-economy targets automakers must meet across the vehicles they sell. The Biden administration finalised tighter CAFE targets in 2024, setting a fleetwide requirement that would raise average fuel economy from about 39.1 miles per gallon to roughly 50.4 mpg by 2031. Officials at the time said the rule would cut fuel use and emissions and lower operating costs for motorists. Automakers responded to the Biden-era rule by increasing production of electric vehicles to help meet stricter fleetwide averages. Trump and some Republicans have characterised those outcomes as an "EV mandate," though there is no federal law that requires consumers to buy electric cars or bans sales of gasoline-powered vehicles. The Republican-controlled Congress also reduced federal consumer tax incentives for electric vehicles last year as part of the legislative package labeled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Trump has not yet released his administration’s replacement numbers for the CAFE program. The president previously proposed a much less stringent standard in December 2025 that would have set the industry fleetwide average for light-duty vehicles at about 34.5 mpg by 2031 — roughly a 30% reduction compared with the Biden-era target. The White House had not immediately provided further details; Al Jazeera reported the administration was contacted for comment, and the Transportation Department indicated a forthcoming announcement.