The Trump administration weakens fuel efficiency standards for new cars

The Trump administration announced today it's scaling back how fuel efficient American carmakers need to make their fleets.

The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards set average fuel economy levels for carmakers. The revised rules, which were finalized today, will now require carmakers to make their new passenger car and truck fleets up to 1% more fuel efficient each year, aiming for an average of 34.9 miles to the gallon in model year 2031.

This is down from Biden-era rules, which required an annual 2% increase in fuel efficiency with a goal of most vehicles getting, on average, 50.4 miles to the gallon by 2031.

The rationale: affordability. Administration officials argue that fuel efficiency technology is expensive, and has helped to drive up the cost of vehicles. They estimate that scaling back the standards will shave about $1,300 off the sticker prices of new cars.