U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that President Trump‘s administration is attempting to roll back federal fuel economy rules to make cars more affordable for Americans.
Speaking during a January 22, panel discussion at the Washington DC Auto Show, Duffy said the Trump administration’s goal is lower the required fleetwide average fuel economy for cars that is set by the Department of Transportation from a current requirement of more than 50 miles-per-gallon by 2031 to around 35 miles-per-gallon.
Duffy said doing so would lower sticker prices and give Americans more choices in dealership showrooms.
“We think we’re giving the freedom to the manufacturers to make vehicles that people want to buy,” Duffy said. “We think the market should dictate what’s produced and what’s made.”
Duffy added “the president has been very thoughtful around how do we navigate the price of a vehicle.”
“They’ve gotten very expensive through the Covid years,” he said. “This is part of what we’re doing to alleviate some of the pricing pressure on vehicles.”
The U.S. Transportation Department, in announcing the Trump administration’s proposal to roll back high fuel economy rules, noted the plan was “projected to save the American people $109 billion over the next five years and save families $1,000 on the average cost of a new vehicle.”
Last year, the average price of a new vehicle in the U.S. soared to record levels, near $50,000.
The agency also said that making cars cheaper would result in Americans buying new models that have more safety features, which would benefit drivers by reducing the number of crashes and fatalities that occur on U.S. roads.
“By helping more Americans buy newer, safer vehicles, NHTSA also estimates more than 1,500 lives would be saved and almost a quarter-of-a-million serious injuries would be prevented through 2050,” the agency said in the December press release.
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Critics of the Trump administration’s proposal to lower federal economy rules say doing so would make cars less efficient and weaken air quality in the U.S.
Sierra Club Clean Transportation for All Director Katherine García said in a statement that the Trump administration’s proposed fuel economy rollback “would move the auto industry backwards, keeping polluting cars on our roads for years to come and threatening the health of millions of Americans, particularly children and the elderly.”
Kathy Harris, director for clean vehicles at the Natural Resources Defense Council agreed, saying in a statement, “the Trump administration is sticking drivers with higher costs at the pump, all to benefit the oil industry.”
“That’s the last thing cash-strapped consumers can afford right now,” Harris said. “Drivers will be paying hundreds of dollars more at the pump every year if these rules are put in place.”
Under fuel economy rules finalized by the Biden administration in June 2024, carmakers are required to produce fleets that average more than 50 miles per gallon by 2031.
The DOT under Biden said the 50 mpg fleetwide average requirement would save car and light truck owners more than $600 in fuel over the lifetime of their vehicles.
The Biden administration said at the time its rules would also save almost 70 billion gallons of gasoline through 2050, preventing more than 710 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

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