Trump says new fuel standards end Biden-era EV rule

Trump’s announcement

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he approved new fuel economy standards and said they eliminate an electric vehicle mandate introduced under President Joe Biden. Trump presented the action as both an update to federal fuel economy policy and an end to the earlier approach for moving automakers toward electric vehicles.

The Biden administration’s 2024 policy sought to speed the transition from gasoline-powered vehicles to EVs. It did that by setting new pollution standards for automakers’ vehicle fleets. Those standards were intentionally difficult for manufacturers to meet without introducing new electric vehicles, making EV production central to how automakers could satisfy the fleet requirements.

Trump’s description of the policy as an EV mandate refers to that pressure on automakers. The earlier policy set standards for manufacturers’ fleets and was designed to change the balance between gasoline-powered and electric vehicles.

What the policy change covers

Trump linked two related federal policy areas in his announcement: fuel economy standards and the Biden administration’s pollution standards. He said his updated fuel economy standards eliminate the earlier EV mandate.

The change concerns the federal requirements automakers consider when determining the mix of vehicles in their fleets. Under the 2024 approach, manufacturers faced pollution standards designed to be difficult to meet without adding EVs. Trump said the newly approved standards end that approach.

The next procedural steps will establish how the updated standards are put into effect and how automakers’ obligations are stated. Those details will define the practical change for manufacturers producing gasoline-powered and electric vehicles.