By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Monday finalized new lower vehicle fuel economy standards, in the latest effort to make it easier for automakers to sell gas-powered vehicles and to reverse a push by the Biden administration to force automakers to build more fuel-efficient vehicles.
The new standards will cut the cost of new vehicles but increase fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions for decades, according to the department's own estimates.
US drivers
have been grappling with sharply higher fuel prices since the start of the US-Israeli war with Iran at the end of February.
The Transportation Department said it was finalizing a fleetwide average of 34.9 miles per gallon (14.7 km per liter) by 2031, down from 50.4 miles per gallon (21.4 km per liter) under Democratic former President Joe Biden.
In 2024, the Biden administration finalized rules to push automakers to build more electric vehicles to meet rising fuel-efficiency standards. Biden increased required fuel efficiency for cars by 8% annually for model years 2024 and 2025, 10% for 2026 and 2% annually from 2027 to 2031.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the trade group representing General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Ford and other major automakers, said the government "made the right call to better align fuel economy standards with the law and current market conditions."
The group added that the Biden rules "effectively required a switchover to electric vehicles that was out of step with market realities and customer demand."
The Sierra Club, an environmental group, said it will fight President Donald Trump's rollback of fuel economy standards. "Americans need relief from high costs, but instead Trump is giving automakers a free pass on pollution and handing families the bill — at the pump and with their health," it said.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Susan Heavey and Paul Simao)
