Coalition sues Trump administration over rule that makes cars less fuel efficient

Support CleanTechnica’s work through a Substack subscription, on Patreon, or on Stripe. Help us produce all the original, high-quality content we publish week after week despite the challenges of AI deleting content, anti-social media, inflation and other obstacles.

Lawsuit Challenges Rollback of Fuel Economy Standards That Will Increase Costs for American Drivers

WASHINGTON, D.C.— A coalition of environmental and consumer protection organizations today filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s final rule rolling back federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, a measure that will make new vehicles less fuel efficient, increase gasoline consumption, and increase costs for American drivers already facing high gas prices.

The lawsuit challenges the administration’s attempt to weaken long-standing fuel economy requirements that have helped reduce gasoline consumption and save drivers money at the pump. The setback comes as families are already struggling with record gas prices, and transportation ranks as the second-largest household expense after housing, accounting for about 17% of average household spending.

Existing fuel economy standards, which the Trump administration has weakened, would have saved 64 billion gallons of gasoline. Even before the current increase in gasoline prices, they were projected to generate $35 billion in savings to consumers over the life of covered vehicles. However, today’s final rule weakens those standards, allowing manufacturers to produce a fleet of model year 2031 vehicles that are less efficient than the fleet of model year 2024 vehicles already on our roads.

The administration’s own projections show that Americans will be forced to spend more than $1,600 more on fuel over the life of these efficient vehicles, and NHTSA estimates that this final rule will result in an increase of more than 121 billion gallons of fuel consumption through 2050.

“We are taking the Trump administration to court for this reckless rollback that prioritizes the profits of Big Oil and automakers over American families,” said Katherine Garcia, director of Clean Transportation for All for the Sierra Club.. “It is illegal for Trump to turn back the clock on fuel-efficient cars, forcing drivers to spend more money on gas and communities to breathe toxic air. The Sierra Club is proud to stand with our coalition partners in defending our right to cleaner, more affordable vehicles.”

“The Trump administration is steering us toward cars that burn more gas to go the same miles, depleting family budgets along the way,” he said. James Crowley, senior attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation. “As the needle gets closer to empty, more money for groceries and rent goes into the tank, while more pollution fills the air we breathe. We will take this administration to court because families cannot afford to be forced back.”

“With gas prices at record highs, Trump chose the worst possible time to roll back federal mileage standards,” he said. David Pettit, attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. “Oil companies will benefit from less efficient cars, but drivers will take a hit to their wallets and our children will breathe dirtier air. We will all pay the price of more tailpipe pollutants being spewed everywhere from playgrounds to wild places. We are asking the courts to end this cruel gift to Big Oil and Big Auto.”

“Consumers need more fuel-efficient options when considering new cars, and they deserve vehicles that get more miles per gallon and miles per dollar.” said Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen. “Trump’s illegal push to roll back key fuel economy safeguards will pollute our air and line the pockets of oil and auto CEOs. We are confident we will stop Trump’s rollback of CAFE rules.”

“The Trump administration’s rollback will mean wasted gas, more air pollution and higher costs for Americans already struggling with high fuel prices,” he said. Andy Su, Senior Transportation Attorney at the Environmental Defense Fund. “We are going to court to oppose this dangerous U-turn that takes us away from decades of successful work to make our cars more efficient and less expensive to drive.”