WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump is expected to announce a proposal Wednesday to weaken vehicle mileage rules for the auto industry, loosening regulatory pressure on automakers to control pollution from gasoline-powered cars and trucks, according to several people familiar with the White House plans.
The proposal would significantly reduce fuel economy requirements, which set rules on how far new vehicles need to travel on a gallon of gasoline, through the 2031 model year, according to a White House official and several people familiar with the plan. They were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly because the proposal has not been announced and spoke on condition of anonymity. Further details were not immediately available.
The move would be the latest action by the Trump administration to reverse Biden-era policies that encouraged cleaner-running cars and trucks, including electric vehicles. Burning gasoline for vehicles is a major contributor to planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. The Republican administration says the new rules would increase Americans' access to the full range of gasoline vehicles they need and can afford.
In May 2023, Rhode Island joined six other states, including Massachusetts, to end the sale of gas-powered vehicles in the Ocean State by 2035 with the adoption of the Advanced Clean Cars II and Advanced Clean Trucks standards.
Advanced Clean Cars II, predecessor to the Act on Climate that Rhode Island adopted in 2021, is a set of regulations that originated in California to reduce smog-causing pollution and emissions from California’s light-duty vehicle fleet. The act also requires an increase of zero-emission vehicle sales from 35% in 2026 to 100% in 2035. Eligible vehicles include battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles, allowing for customer choice.
The move was part of the state’s effort to combat climate change and gain net-zero emissions by 2050.
Trump is set to announce the plan at a White House event that is expected to include top executives from the three largest U.S. automakers, who have praised the planned changes. Since taking office in January, Trump has relaxed auto tailpipe emissions rules, repealed fines for automakers that do not meet federal mileage standards and terminated consumer credits of up to $7,500 for EV purchases.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement Wednesday that the planned rollback was “a win for customers and common sense.”
“As America’s largest auto producer, we appreciate President Trump’s leadership in aligning fuel economy standards with market realities. We can make real progress on carbon emissions and energy efficiency while still giving customers choice and affordability,” Farley said.
Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said the automaker appreciates the administration’s actions to “realign” the standards.
Environmentalists decried the decision.
“In one stroke Trump is worsening three of our nation’s most vexing problems: the thirst for oil, high gas pump costs and global warming,” said Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Transport Campaign for the Center for Biological Diversity.
“Trump’s action will feed America’s destructive use of oil, while hamstringing us in the green tech race against Chinese and other foreign carmakers,” Becker said.
Trump has repeatedly pledged to end what he falsely calls an EV “mandate,” referring incorrectly to Democratic President Joe Biden’s target that half of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030. EVs accounted for about 8% of new vehicle sales in the United States in 2024, according to Cox Automotive.
No federal policy has required auto companies to sell EVs, although California and other states have imposed rules requiring that all new passenger vehicles sold in the state be zero-emission by 2035. Trump and congressional Republicans blocked the California law earlier this year.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urged his agency to reverse existing fuel economy requirements, known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy, soon after taking office. In June, he said that standards set under Biden were illegal because they included use of electric vehicles in their calculation. EVs do not run on gasoline. After the June rule revision, the traffic safety agency was empowered to update the requirements.
Under Biden, automakers were required to average about 50 miles (81 kilometers) per gallon of gas for passenger cars by 2031, compared with about 39 miles (63 kilometers) per gallon today.
The Biden administration also increased fuel-economy requirements by 2% each year for light-duty vehicles in every model year from 2027 to 2031, and 2% per year for SUVs and other light trucks from 2029 to 2031. At the same time, it called for stringent tailpipe rules meant to encourage EV adoption.
The auto industry has complained that both Biden-era rules were difficult to meet.
Mileage rules have been implemented since the 1970s energy crisis, and over time, automakers have gradually increased their vehicles’ average efficiency.
PBN staff reports contributed to this report.
