Toronto Star
· collected 2026-09-28 · by Anne D'innocenzio The Associated Press
The Trump administration plans to release new fuel economy standards that would lower regulatory requirements for automakers, setting an industry fleetwide average for light-duty vehicles at approximately 34.5 miles per gallon in the 2031 model year, compared to the previous projection of 50.4 mpg under Biden's rules. President Trump argues these changes will save families money and boost U.S. auto production, but environmentalists criticize them as ignoring clean technology feasibility and existing fuel-efficient vehicles on the road.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-28,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
The Trump administration on Monday plans to release new fuel economy standards that would relax regulatory requirements for automakers to control pollution from gasoline-powered cars and light trucks.
asserted
automakers → plan → cars
President Donald Trump said on his Truth Social media account Saturday that the less stringent mileage requirements would “take the waste out of building cars in America” and save families “thousands on a new, beautiful and safe car,” while boosting auto production in the U.S.
Last December, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration projected that the new standards would set the industry fleetwide average for light-duty vehicles at roughly 34.5 miles per gallon in the 2031 model year, down from a projected 50.4 miles per gallon in 2031 under rules put in place by the Biden administration.
asserted
standards → say → administration
Fuel economy requirements set out how far new vehicles need to travel on a gallon of gasoline.
asserted
vehicles → set → gasoline
The change would further make do on Trump’s promise to revoke policies that encouraged or created incentives for the production of electric vehicles.
asserted
that → make → vehicles
Since taking office, Trump has relaxed auto tailpipe emissions rules, repealed fines for automakers that do not meet federal mileage standards and terminated consumer credits of up to $7,500 for EV purchases.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said Saturday on his social media account on X that the changes would be announced Monday.
asserted
changes → take → X
The White House, Department of Transportation and NHTSA couldn’t immediately be reached for comment on the details of the new standards.
asserted
House → reach → standards
General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford Motor, maker of the top-selling pickup truck, the F-150, also couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
asserted
Motors → sell → comment
The administration and automakers have said the new rules will increase Americans’ access to the full range of gasoline vehicles they need and can afford.
asserted
they → say → vehicles
The average new car in America sold for $50,089 in August, crossing over the $50,000 line for the first time since last December, according to Kelley Blue Book data.
uncertain
car → sell → data
At the same time, Americans are spending more on gas as Washington’s war with Iran disrupts the global flow of fuel.
asserted
war → spend → fuel
The national average price for a gallon of gas was $4.47 on Sunday, up from $4.09 a month ago, according to the AAA motor club.
uncertain
price → accord → club
Trump has repeatedly pledged to end what he falsely calls an EV “mandate,” referring incorrectly to President Joe Biden’s target that half of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030.
asserted
half → pledge → 2030
No federal policy has mandated auto companies to sell EVs.
asserted
policy → mandate → EVs
According to data from the automotive research group Edmunds, EVs accounted for 6.5% of new vehicle sales in February, down from 7.4% for all of 2025.
uncertain
EVs → accord → 2025
News of the revised standards immediately drew rebukes from environmentalists.
Dan Becker, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Safe Climate Transport Campaign, said that the final rule “ignores the feasibility of clean technology and the millions of fuel-efficient cars already on the road.
asserted
rule → revise → road
“Trump is tanking sensible mile per gallon standards at the worst possible time for consumers, who are getting hit with sky-high prices at the pump,” Becker said in a statement.
asserted
Becker → tank → statement
“Consumers will pay the price for these reckless rollbacks while Trump’s Big Oil and Big Auto buddies reap the short-term profits.”
asserted
Consumers → pay → profits
Katherine García, director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign, vowed the environmental group would fight the rule and said that the loosening of fuel standards would “make driving more expensive too.”
“Less fuel-efficient cars mean more gas burned, spending more at the pump, and dirtier air in our communities,” Garcia wrote in a statement.
asserted
Garcia → vow → statement
When the 2024 standards went into effect, NHTSA estimated they would save 14 billion gallons of gasoline from being burned by 2050.
asserted
they → go → 2050
The agency also said that while new fuel-efficient vehicles cost more up front, savings on gasoline over the lifetime of the car or truck would more than make up for that.
asserted
savings → say → that
Without these standards, in 2035, cars could produce 22,111 more tons of carbon dioxide per year than under the Biden-era rules.
uncertain
cars → produce → rules
It also translates to an extra 90 tons a year of deadly soot particles and 4,870 additional tons a year of smog components such as nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds emitted into the air in coming years.
asserted
It → translate → years
Mileage standards, known as the corporate average fuel economy, or CAFE, have been implemented since the 1970s energy crisis, and over time, automakers have gradually improved their vehicles’ average efficiency.
asserted
automakers → know → efficiency
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