‘Government shouldn’t be in the business of deciding what types of cars and trucks people drive’
SCHAUMBURG, IL (September 28, 2026) — The Trump administration on Monday announced a change to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, dropping the fuel efficiency mandate by the Biden administration’s 50.4 miles per gallon by model year 2031 to 34.9 miles per gallon.
While down considerably from the Biden-era mandate that essentially outlawed the internal combustion engine and mandated the manufacturing of more electric vehicles, the new Trump administration rule still an increase from the 30.1 mile per gallon mandate for model year 2024.
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“President Trump’s decision to rescind the Biden administration’s deadly, costly, EV diktat is long-overdue. Government shouldn’t be in the business of deciding what types of cars and trucks people drive, nor be telling automakers, in the face of consumer demand as indicated through sales, that fuel economy is what they should care about the most. A fetishistic fear of climate change should not dictate American transportation policies. Thank you, President Trump, for putting average American drivers first.”
H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D.
Director, Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate & Environmental Policy
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
“For years, Washington used fuel-economy regulations as a backdoor EV mandate, pushing automakers toward vehicles regardless of what consumers actually wanted to buy. Resetting the CAFE standards from the previous 50.4-mpg trajectory to 34.9 mpg by 2031 restores some reality to the marketplace. Americans should be free to choose an EV, hybrid, or gasoline vehicle based on their own needs and budgets, not Washington’s preferred technology.
“Real innovation and consumer demand should drive the automobile market, rather than regulatory mandates and climate credit schemes. If EVs can compete on price, performance, range, and convenience, consumers will buy them. Let the market decide.”
Anthony Watts
Senior Fellow
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
The Heartland Institute is one of the world’s leading free-market think tanks. Founded in 1984 and now based in Schaumburg, Illinois, Heartland’s mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. The Economist magazine has called Heartland “the world’s most prominent think tank supporting skepticism about man-made climate change.”
H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D., is the Director of the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy and the managing editor of Environment & Climate News.
Anthony Watts is a senior fellow for environment and climate at The Heartland Institute.
