President Donald Trump's administration is being sued over his plan to slash federal fuel economy standards for U.S. cars.
Environmental groups such as the Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund and Center for Biological Diversity said in an Oct. 2 news release that they have filed a lawsuit that asks a U.S. court to intervene to stop the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from lowering the required fleetwide average fuel economy for cars. The Trump administration's proposal would take the requirement from a current requirement of more than 50 miles-per-gallon by 2031 down to just under 35 miles-per-gallon.
The groups said NHTSA ignored its own analysis showing the weaker fuel rules will result in drivers paying more at the pump.
“We’re taking the Trump administration to court for this reckless rollback that prioritizes Big Oil and automaker profits over American families," Katherine Garcia, Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All Director, said in a statement.
Trump administration officials said lowering the fuel economy requirements for carmakers would make cars cheaper in the long run by an average of about $1,300.
“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we have finally ended the illegal mandate that forced automakers to produce more expensive electric vehicles that American families didn’t want," U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement.
The fight over fuel economy rules comes as the average price of gas in the U.S. was $4.30 on Friday, Oct. 2, according to AAA.
Why is the Trump administration trying to weaken US mpg rules when gas prices are high?
The U.S. Transportation Department noted the plan to weaken fuel economy requirements for carmakers will "give automakers the flexibility to manufacturer cars the public wants to buy," in addition to the projected sticker price savings.
Last month, the average price of a new vehicle in the U.S. soared to record levels, near $50,000.
The agency also said that making cars cheaper would result in Americans buying new models that have more safety features.
NHTSA Administrator Jonathan Morrison, whose agency penned the analysis that cited increases costs for the average driver, also released a statement supporting the reduced mileage, which echoed many of the Trump administration's talking points.
"By reducing vehicle prices, more American families will be able to afford newer vehicles, and sensible standards allow automakers more freedom to design and produce vehicles consumers actually want," Morrison said.
Automakers have supported the attempt to cut their required fuel economy rules. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which lobbies in Washington for most major carmakers, said it believes "NHTSA made the right call to better align fuel economy standards with the law and current market conditions."
Why are environmentalists trying to stop the fuel rule rollback and how likely are they to succeed?
The environmental groups who sued the Trump administration over the MPG rules rollback said the president and his team are ignoring the pain that drivers are feeling at the pump with prices remaining above $4 per gallon for most of the year.
“With gas prices at historic highs, Trump picked the worst possible time to roll back federal mileage standards,” David Pettit, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, said in a statement.
Critics of Trump's MPG move point to NHTSA's internal analysis that showed that drivers would spend an extra $1,624 on gas over the life of own a car purchased under its proposed fuel rules. Under the current MPG rules, the agency said drivers would spend $15,333 on gas for a car purchased under the requirements for the 2011 model year. That number jumps to $16,957 under the proposed lower mpg rules.
The agency said that a jump in gas spending is to be expected when fuel efficiency standards are being lowered, according to an analysis published when the proposed rules were finalized .
"Because NHTSA is decreasing the stringency of standards, many of these benefits...are lower than they are in the baseline, and their incremental differences are presented as negative relative to the baseline," NHTSA analysis said.
The Trump administration and environmental groups have been clashing over fuel rules since the start of the first Trump administration in 2017. Trump moved then over the objection of environmentalists to roll back rules that would have required automakers to achieve fleetwide averages of nearly 55 mpg by 2025 that were enacted under former President Barack Obama. The Obama-era rules were restored by the Biden administration before later being slashed again by Trump. Each administration's MPG rule proposal was ultimately finalized.
What does the fight over fuel rules mean for car buyers?
If the Trump administration is successful in its attempt to weaken the federal MPG standards, car buyers will have much less fuel-efficient options to choose from in the next several years.
Under the current rules, which were enacted by former President Joe Biden's administration, carmakers are required to produce fleets of automobiles that are capable of achieving more than 50 mpgs by 2031. Trump's new proposal would cut that requirement down to just under 35 mpg.
That means for a car that has an average-sized gas tank that holds around 15 gallons, you'd get about 125 miles less on a fill up at 35 mpg than you would at 50 mpg. But it's important to note carmakers only averaged about 27 mpg last year, which translates to about 375 miles on a single tank, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which regulates air pollution and tailpipe emissions by law while NHTSA sets mileage rates.
But the environmental groups that sued the Trump administration said car shoppers need fuel-efficient models to choose from more than ever with gas prices remaining elevated.
“Consumers need more fuel-efficient choices when considering new cars, and they deserve vehicles that get more miles per gallon and miles per dollar,” Robert Weissman, co-President of Public Citizen, said.
Keith Laing is an automotive reporter on the National Trending Desk at USA TODAY. Contact Keith at klaing@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump fuel economy rollback faces lawsuit as gas prices top $4
