Experts Warn That Changes to CAFE Standards Will Increase Driver Costs and Pollution

On December 3, 2025, the New York Times reported that the current administration announced it is reversing the vehicle fuel efficiency standards established under former President Joe Biden. A White House official confirmed reports that the administration expects the revised standards to save Americans up to $109 billion and take off $1,000 off the cost of a new car. The administration also said it plans to revoke the Biden-era emissions waivers granted to California. This follows a Senate vote in May to overturn the state’s electric vehicle emissions waivers.

Last year, when the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced new fuel economy standards for 2027 through 2031 vehicles, the agency said the rules would save Americans more than $23 billion in fuel costs and reduce pollution. The standards were expected to save the average driver about $600 in fuel costs over the life of a vehicle and cut nearly 70 billion gallons of gasoline through 2050, preventing more than 710 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

The Biden administration’s 2024 rule required a 2% annual increase in fuel efficiency for passenger cars from model years 2027 to 2031 and for light trucks from model years 2029 to 2031. This was intended to raise the fleet-wide average fuel economy to about 50.4 miles per gallon by 2031.

The new plan would require automakers to achieve an average of 34.5 miles per gallon for cars and light trucks in model year 2031.

Transportation remains a major source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, with cars and trucks responsible for most of those emissions, according to the EPA.

“Efficient vehicles save money for Americans. This proposal would raise fuel costs for millions of drivers, adding to the financial strain on families and businesses,” said Rachel Aland, transportation director at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). “If this rule is finalized, U.S. automakers will be less competitive as other countries race ahead in manufacturing cleaner vehicles that cost less to drive.”

The current administration has moved aggressively to dismantle federal climate regulations, and the rollback of automobile standards is part of that broader effort. The administration is also lifting limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and oil and gas wells, while easing rules that previously restricted fossil fuel companies from extracting and burning more coal, oil, and gas.

Environmental groups said eliminating mileage standards would significantly weaken U.S. efforts to address climate change. They also disputed the president’s claim that the proposal would reduce consumer costs, noting that fuel efficiency rules have led automakers to produce vehicles that use less gasoline and save drivers money over time.

Gutting the program would “make cars burn more gas and American families burn more cash,” said Katherine García, director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All program. Critics also noted that the decision puts the United States further out of step with global trends, where electric vehicle markets continue to expand. Stuart Taylor, a former Ford executive and now chief product officer at Envorso, said the shift complicates efforts to design cars that can be sold internationally. “The migration to E.V.s, which most of us in the industry believe is inevitable, is now running on two different timelines,” he said.

Congress created the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards in 1975 in response to an oil embargo by Arab nations that caused fuel shortages and long gas station lines. Cars at the time averaged only about 13 miles per gallon. The initiative was intended primarily as an energy security measure. “It was really to reduce oil dependence. That’s the heart of why it started,” said Rebecca Ciez, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University.

The standards remained mostly unchanged for decades and remained popular until President Barack Obama moved to strengthen them significantly. Connecting fuel efficiency rules to climate policy made them politically contentious, Ciez said.

Economists said reversing the Biden-era standards may slightly reduce manufacturing costs but would carry significant public health and environmental consequences. Over time, they added, Americans would spend more on gasoline than they would have under stronger standards.

Antonio M. Bento, an economics professor at the University of Southern California, said the administration’s claim of $109 billion in savings is misleading. “What the administration is doing is not calculating huge benefits that come from fuel economy savings,” he said, adding that officials have also stopped accounting for the climate damages associated with weaker standards. “If you count only costs, of course you’re going to have this massive number,” he said.

The Transportation Department is expected to open a 45-day public comment period on the proposal before finalizing the rule next year.

EVinfo.net’s Take: Why the Changes to CAFE Standards Must Be Opposed

The push to weaken the nation’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards threatens to worsen three of the most persistent problems facing the United States: our dependence on oil, the high cost of gasoline, and the accelerating impacts of global warming. These standards were created to make vehicles more efficient, cut fuel costs for families, and reduce the pollution driving climate change. Rolling them back moves the country in the opposite direction.

The impact at the pump is immediate and unavoidable. When cars and trucks use more fuel, households pay more, sometimes hundreds of dollars more per year. For working families already strained by rising living costs, undermining vehicle efficiency is effectively a hidden tax.

And then there is the climate cost. Transportation is the nation’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Strong CAFE standards are one of the most effective tools for reducing that pollution. Rolling them back increases emissions at a critical moment when scientists warn that every fraction of a degree of warming brings more destructive storms, heat waves, and wildfires, through global human-caused climate change.

The new CAFE standards would severely decrease national security in the US. For decades, the U.S. economy has been tied to oil imports from volatile regions. That dependence has not only shaped foreign policy but has also left the country vulnerable to supply disruptions, price shocks, and geopolitical pressure. By shifting from gas powered vehicles to electric vehicles (EVs) powered by domestic electricity, especially from renewables like wind, solar, and hydro, America can insulate itself from these external risks. Energy independence becomes a reality when vehicles run on power generated within U.S. borders.

Opposing these changes is not just an environmental stance. It is an economic and national security imperative. Strong fuel economy standards save Americans money, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and help curb the climate crisis. Weakening them only sets the country back when it should be moving forward.

The answers for smart drivers is, as always, to switch from polluting, expensive to own gas-powered vehicles to clean, cost-saving electric. Its much easier than many people believe, and there are tremendous savings available right now on used EVs.