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Trump declares end to ‘EV mandate’ with new fuel economy standards

By
FOX Local
Cars and Trucks
Published September 26, 2026 7:00 PM MST
Published September 26, 2026 7:00 PM MST
article

Tesla Supercharger StationTesla Model Y electric vehicle connected to a Tesla Supercharger in a shopping center parking lot, Walnut Creek, California, September 14, 2026. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

The Brief

    • President Donald Trump posted that he has approved new fuel economy standards that the U.S. Department of Transportation is expected to approve Monday.
    • The new standards will dramatically lower the current fuel economy requirements through 2031.
    • The standards are expected to cut the cost of building a vehicle while increasing the amount spent on fuel.

President Donald Trump has signed off on new fuel economy standards that he claims will end a Biden-era push for carmakers to build more electric vehicles. 

Big picture view:

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Transportation is expected to approve new, dramatically reduced emissions standards that will last through 2031. In a post announcing his support for the move, Trump said "these new Standards will take the waste out of building cars in America."

What they're saying:

"That means LOWER PRICES, saving families thousands on a new, beautiful, and safe car – Far better than the Environmental Monsters that we were building heretofore," Trump wrote in his post. "Every Manufacturer, from General Motors to Ford Stellantis, has called me wanting to build here, and now they can!"

The backstory:

Trump blasted the current fuel economy standards, arguing that they cost manufacturers billions of dollars, wasted billions on chargers, and forced people to buy vehicles that they did not want. 

The new standards are expected to cut the cost of building new vehicles, but will drive up fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions for decades, the U.S. Department of Transportation predicts. 

RELATED: Trump rescinds nearly $1B in funds approved by Congress: Why senators say it's illegal

By the numbers:

According to Reuters, the new proposal would require an automaker’s fleetwide fuel economy average to be 34.5 miles per gallon by 2031, a sharp decrease from the 50.4 miles per gallon under the current regulations.

Reducing the restrictions is predicted to shave $930 off the cost of an average new vehicle, Reuters reported. Conversely, the new standards are expected to result in 100 billion more gallons of fuel to be consumed, an extra $185 billion spent on fuel, and an increase in carbon dioxide emissions by 5%, according to DOT numbers. 

The other side:

Reuters quoted former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who led the agency under President Joe Biden, as saying "lowering standards will accelerate what (Trump) has already been doing: handing the clean tech future to China and forcing Americans to pay more at the pump."

The Source: Information for this article was taken from FOX Business, Reuters, President Donald Trump’s Truth Social post, and the U.S. Department of Transportation. This story was reported from Orlando.



 

Cars and TrucksEnvironmentNewsDonald J. Trump