AFPM: revised fuel economy standards would put CAFE back on solid legal footing

“We are just beginning to review the proposal, but we are encouraged to see this administration working to get CAFE back on a solid legal footing, well within the guardrails Congress established in the Environmental Policy & Conservation Act. Past administrations used CAFE standards as a back door mechanism to force electric vehicle (EV) adoption – a clear and unlawful misuse of the programme. We are optimistic this proposal aligns with EPCA’s directive for standards to be ambitious yet feasible for internal combustion engine vehicles, and that it will support a more efficient vehicle fleet while also protecting consumers’ access to the types of cars and trucks they want and can afford to drive. We thank the Trump administration for its hard work on this issue and look forward to offering substantive comments in the weeks ahead,” said Chet Thompson, AFPM President and CEO.

Under the Biden administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) acted unlawfully by including EVs and assuming unrealistic levels of EV adoption in its CAFE Standard baseline. A fleet of internal combustion engine vehicles could not achieve the 2027 - 2031 CAFE standards finalised in June of 2024. Compliance would have required an unrealistic level of EV adoption, far outpacing consumers and the market.

NHTSA under President Trump issued an interpretive rule in the summer of 2025 reaffirming that the EPCA expressly states NHTSA ‘may not consider’ the fuel economy of EVs or ‘dual-fuelled vehicles’ operating on electricity when setting fuel-economy standards for passenger cars and light trucks (see 49 U.S. Code § 39202). The revised standards proposed are in line with this interpretive rule and are necessary to ensure that the CAFE standards follow the law.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/05122025/afpm-revised-fuel-economy-standards-would-put-cafe-back-on-solid-legal-footing/