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US to announce sharply lower vehicle fuel economy requirements

By Thomson Reuters Aug 31, 2026 | 1:35 PM

WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (Reuters) – The Trump administration will soon announce sharply lower ​vehicle fuel-economy standards, ‌reversing a push by the prior administration to force automakers to build more ‌fuel-efficient ​vehicles, Transportation ⁠Secretary Sean Duffy ⁠said Monday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in December proposed significantly reducing ​fuel economy requirements from model years 2022 ⁠to 2031, ⁠requiring a fleetwide average ​34.5 miles per gallon ​by 2031, down from 50.4 ‌miles per gallon (21.4 km per liter) under former President Joe Biden.

“We ⁠are about announce a common-sense fuel economy standard because we ⁠want ‌Detroit to build ⁠cars that Americans ​want ‌to buy — not cars ​that Democrats ⁠want Washington to build,” Duffy said at an appearance in Michigan.

(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by Nick ​Zieminski)