US DoT says Biden fuel economy rules exceeded legal authority | Automotive Industry

The mandate that the dowry challenged was a key element in the plan of former American president Joe Biden to combat climate change.

The United States Ministry of Transport (DOT) said that the administration of former president Joe Biden had exceeded his authority by assuming a strong adoption of electric vehicles in calculating the rules of the fuel economy.

Friday, with this declaration, the dowry paved the way for more loose fuel standards and published the rule “Reset of the average fuel economy program” (CAFE). A future separate rule of the administration of President Donald Trump will revise the requirements of the fuel economy.

“We make vehicles more affordable and easier to manufacture in the United States. The previous administration illegally used CAFE standards as an electric vehicle mandate,” said Sean Duffy, transport secretary, in a statement.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the department, in writing of its rule last year under Biden, had “supposed A large number of EVs would continue to be produced Whatever the standards established by the agency, in turn increasing the level of standards that could be considered maximum possible, “he said on Friday.

A distance from Biden policies

In January, Duffy signed a prescription ordering the NHTSA to cancel the fuel economy standards issued under Biden for the 2022-2031 model years which aimed to considerably reduce fuel consumption for cars and trucks.

In an outing last year, The point, then led by Pete Buttigieg, set up a fuel saving required to increase by 2% for cars made between 2027 and 2031.

At the time, the point said it would help save Consumers have more than $ 600 in gas each year. He was also part of the Biden administration plan to fight climate change.

“These new fuel economy standards will allow our billions of dollars in nations, will help reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and make our air cleaner for everyone. The Americans will benefit from the advantages of this rule for the decades to come, “said NHTSA assistant administrator Sophie Shulman, said at the time.

In June 2024, the NHTSA said that it would increase the requirements of the CAFE to around 50.4 miles per gallon (4.67 liters per 100 km) by 2031 from 39.1 MPG currently for light vehicles.

Last year, the agency said the rule of cars and tourist trucks would reduce gas consumption by 64 billion gallons and reduce emissions of 659 million tonnes, reducing fuel costs with net advantages estimated at 35.2 billion dollars.

Late Thursday, the Senate Republicans proposed to eliminate fines for non-compliance with CAFE rules as part of a large-scale tax bill, the last decision to facilitate car manufacturers to build gas vehicles.

Last year, Chrysler-Parent Stellantis paid $ 190.7 million in civilian penalties for having failed to meet the American requirements of the fuel economy for 2019 and 2020 after having paid nearly $ 400 million for penalties from 2016 to 2019. GM previously paid 128.2 million dollars in fees for 2016 and 2017.

Stellantis said that he had supported the republican proposal of the Senate “to relieve while DOT develops its proposal to reset coffee standards … Standards are deactivated with the reality of the current market, and immediate relief is necessary to preserve accessibility and freedom of choice.”

GM refused to comment.