Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wasted no time getting to work, signing a memorandum just hours after being confirmed to do away with fuel economy standards established under former President Joe Biden’s administration.
On Tuesday, Jan. 28, Duffy directed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to begin the process of rolling back updated corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards established by the previous administration. CAFE standards set minimum miles-per-gallon fuel efficiencies for passenger vehicles and fuel consumption standards for certain medium-duty vehicles.
Duffy’s directive to rescind Biden-era fuel economy standards came the same day the Senate approved his nomination and stems from an executive order President Donald Trump signed on Inauguration Day. That order directs agencies “to eliminate the ‘electric vehicle (EV) mandate’ and promote true consumer choice … by removing regulatory barriers to motor vehicle access.”
Specifically, NHTSA is to begin “an immediate review and reconsideration of all existing fuel economy standards applicable to all models of motor vehicles produced from model year 2022 forward.”
CAFE standards were established in the 1970s in response to the oil crisis. In 1978, cars were getting about 18 mpg, increasing to 27.5 mpg by 1985. Fuel efficiency stayed at that mark until 2010, when former President Barack Obama set higher standards to 43.7 mpg by model year 2020 cars. The Biden administration’s standards increase fuel efficiency sharply, and it is those standards that the Trump administration will likely roll back.
That includes a 2022 rule increasing standards for model years 2024-26 passenger vehicles. By 2026, passenger vehicle fuel efficiency requirements will be set at 59 mpg compared to 44 mpg for model year 2023 cars.
NHTSA will also likely roll back a 2024 rule that establishes fuel economy standards for cars model year 2027 and beyond. That sets the standard to 65 mpg for passenger vehicles by 2031. The rule also lowers the amount of fuel consumed by heavy-duty pickup trucks from 5.6 gallons per 100 miles in model year 2022 trucks to 2.85 gallons in model year 2035 trucks.
When the rule was finalized, the DOT at the time claimed the new fuel economy standards would save car owners more than $600 in fuel costs over the lifetime of a vehicle. Higher standards would also save nearly 70 billion gallons of gasoline through 2050.
In his memorandum, Duffy said the latest fuel economy standards force manufacturers to shift away from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles.
He called the standards “artificially high” and claimed they lead to higher vehicle costs that make new cars unaffordable for average Americans and small-business owners.
“Fuel economy standards that diminish the strength of America’s auto industry and deny Americans the full range of affordable ICE vehicles they need and are willing to pay for cannot satisfy the ‘technological feasibility’ and ‘economic practicability’ requirements of the governing law,” the memorandum states.
What about heavy-duty trucks?
Duffy’s orders to NHTSA apply to fuel economy standards mostly of passenger vehicles, but the Trump administration is expected to make moves that affect heavy-duty truck emission standards.
Although the DOT sets fuel economy standards for light-duty vehicles, the agency has no control over the much stricter vehicle emission standards. Those fall under the Environmental Protection Agency’s jurisdiction.
Most notable for truck drivers is a 2024 EPA rule that set much higher truck emission standards at the federal level. That rule effectively requires 25% of sleeper cab tractors to be zero-emission by 2032. A separate rule finalized a week prior reduced passenger vehicle emission standards by 50% from model year 2026 to 2032. The EPA will likely have its sights set on both rules.
Also within the EPA’s jurisdiction are California vehicle emission rules that go beyond federal standards.
California requires a waiver from the EPA to implement stricter standards, thereby giving the federal government power to rescind the rules. Those rules include Advanced Clean Trucks and the Heavy-Duty Omnibus, which have been adopted by 10 other states.
On Wednesday, Jan. 29, the Senate confirmed Lee Zeldin to lead the EPA. Now that a new EPA administrator is in place, the agency can move forward with Trump’s executive order carried out by Duffy and the DOT, including undoing truck emission standards established by the previous administration.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association congratulated Zeldin on his confirmation and said it is looking forward to working with him to create practical policies for small-business truckers.
“Small-business truckers, who make up 96% of trucking, have faced an uncertain future in recent years from top-down environmental regulations and mandates,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said in a statement. “We look forward to working with Administrator Zeldin on commonsense environmental policies that consider the local mom-and-pop trucking businesses that keep America’s supply chain running.” LL
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