The Trump Administration on Wednesday revealed its proposed set of new National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for the auto industry to follow — called the “Freedom Means Affordable Cars” initiative.
Administration officials claim the Biden-Buttigieg administration broke the law by setting standards that went far beyond the requirements mandated by Congress to artificially stimulate supply for electric vehicles.
“Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg illegally twisted mileage standards to create an electric vehicle mandate — jacking up car prices for American families and forcing manufacturers to produce vehicles no one wanted,” says Sean P. Duffy, U.S. Transportation Secretary.
“I’m proud to stand with President Trump in the Oval Office today to say that those days are over. This administration understands the freedom of every American family starts with affordable cars. That’s why our new standards will make that dream more achievable by letting auto manufacturers produce the cars that fit family’s needs at a lower price.”
The government projects the Freedom Means Affordable Cars proposal to save the American people $109 billion over the next five years, and save families $1,000 on the average cost of a new vehicle.
By helping more Americans buy newer, safer vehicles, NHTSA estimates more than 1,500 lives would be saved and almost a quarter-of-a-million serious injuries would be prevented through 2050.
“Restoring reasonable fuel economy standards will also save lives and make our roads safer,” says Jonathan Morrison, administrator of NHTSA. “Newer cars are safer cars and by reducing vehicle prices, more American families will be able to afford newer vehicles. I’m proud of our team for the tremendous job they’ve done developing this proposal.”
The new proposal would apply to passenger cars and light trucks for model years 2022-2031. The full proposed rule can be found here.
Top executives of the Detroit Three were in the Oval Office for the announcement of the new CAFE standards.
“What you should know is that this is a victory for affordability and common sense,” said Jim Farley, CEO of Ford Motor Co. on “Fox & Friends” this morning. “As the president said, we will be able to offer more affordability on our popular models, and we’ll be able to launch new vehicles built in America that are more affordable because of this rule change.
“Frankly, (the Corporate Average Fuel Economy) was totally out of touch with the market reality. We were forced to sell EVs and other vehicles. We’re not going back to gas-guzzlers. We have a lot of EVs and a lot of hybrids at Ford, but now customers get a chance to choose what they want, not by what we force on them.”
The proposed reset standards, developed without consideration of electric vehicles and credit trading, increases the fuel economy standard by 0.5 percent per year for passenger cars from model years 2023 through 2026, followed by 0.35 percent in model year 2027, and 0.25 percent from model year 2029 to 2031.
For light trucks, NHTSA is proposing an increase of 0.5 percent for model year 2023 through 2026, followed by 0.7 percent in model year 2027, and 0.25 percent from model year 2029 to 2031.
In terms of miles per gallon, NHTSA estimates that the proposed standards would achieve a fleet average fuel economy of 34.5 miles per gallon by model year 2031. The proposed standards also would eliminate the CAFE credit trading program starting in model year 2028, which artificially propped up the EV industry at the expense of traditional automakers, according to the administration.
In addition, the proposed rule would reclassify crossovers and small SUVs as passenger automobiles instead of light trucks, removing a market distortion that existed for decades and realigning the categories with congressional intent.
A 45-day public comment period will begin when the proposal is published in the Federal Register, and a public hearing will be conducted at a date to be announced.
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