News of the Day September 28, 2026
Trump Administration Approves Rollback of Biden-Era Fuel Economy Rules

President Donald Trump said Saturday on Truth Social that he had “just approved new Fuel Economy Standards,” setting up a formal replacement of the Biden administration’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy requirements. According to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the administration will announce the change Monday, when the new standards are expected to be finalized.

Under the Biden rules, the industry faced a fleetwide CAFE target near 50.4 mpg across cars and light trucks by the 2031 model year. A December proposal would have eased that to about 34.5 mpg over the same timeframe. Trump called the previous policy a “ridiculous EV Mandate.” He said the new standards would cut car prices, restart idled plants and restore jobs.

The rollback gives automakers more freedom to keep offering combustion vehicles without depending so heavily on hybrids and EVs. Combustion models can carry lower prices than comparable hybrids. The average U.S. new-car transaction price surpassed $50,000 in December. Congress, meanwhile, has already stripped the fines levied on automakers that miss mileage targets, a change worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the industry.