Last month, President Donald Trump’s signature bill eliminated penalties that automakers had to pay to fail to meet fuel economy requirements.
The automotive industry praised the move. According to federal government data, manufacturers have fined more than $1 billion over the past decade.
The fuel efficiency rules are still in the book, but for now, if you can take away the fine, some experts say you can remove the incentive that will force your car to use fewer gallons for more miles.
“Without a penalty, car companies are free to fool,” said Dan Becker, director of the Biodiversity Centre’s Safety Climate Transportation Campaign. “It’s the “Escape from Prison” card. ”
But what does that mean to you?
USA Today compiled data on almost 100 of the nation’s most popular cars to explain what the Fuel Economic Rules can give to what they pay at gas stations.
For example, driving the most efficient 2025 Ford F-150 at 15,000 miles is around $2,000 today.
If Ford remodels a truck to meet the federal efficiency standards that must be followed by 2031, its costs will be reduced by almost half.
That conclusion is based on the miles per gallon of this car now compared to what you need in a few years.
Using the same method on all popular car models, the potential savings estimated by USA Today ranged from $53 to $1,432, with most cars saving between $900 and $1,200 if the requirements were met. The analysis included passenger cars, SUVs, minivans and pickup trucks.
For a more detailed breakdown, you can search for your car here:
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While carmakers are planning their models years ahead, the rollback could mean they will ultimately not feel like they’re putting pressure on their cars to be more fuel efficient or making them more fuel efficient, Becker said.
K. Venkatesh Prasad, Senior Vice President of Research at the Center for Automotive Research, said improvements in mileage could slow down without the demand for regulations, but the industry is thinking about global scale.
“As avoiding local (for example, the US) costs will either undermine global sales by relaxing local regulations or add new costs to the sales of US-designed products in other markets (China and Europe), so as important as automakers, all major suppliers will invest in all major markets.”
Last year, the Biden administration said it would save Americans with fuel economy standards of more than $23 billion from 2027 to 2031.
It’s an incomplete system, but experts say that fuel efficiency requirements work not only for the driver but also for the environment.
David Green, a research professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, co-authored a study that estimated that fuel economy would be nearly blown out between 1975 and 2018, saving 2 trillion gallons of gasoline and 17 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Beyond the removal of fines, the broader fuel economy requirements set by the previous administration are also being reviewed, a spokesperson for the National Highway Traffic Safety Management Agency told USA Today in a statement.
Asked if the driver still forecasts that he will save $23 billion in fuel costs over the next few years, the agency said: “We look forward to sharing updated valuations of costs and profits as part of the rules-making process. Once the updated standards are completed, the agency will continue to track and notify businesses when compliance is removed.”
The agency noted that the cost of new cars is projected from the standards being implemented.
Last year’s analysis showed that regulatory costs add hundreds of dollars to car prices, but that increase is ultimately offset by fuel savings.
Elimination of penalties is part of a larger trend to revoke regulations regarding the fossil fuel industry.
Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed rollback of greenhouse gas emission standards for vehicles. These two standards require the use of the car and the lower the emissions, the lower the fuel.
Green, who previously served as an advisor to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, acknowledges the ambitious emission standards, but says removal of them could hamper efforts to curb climate change.
“This is a major blow to the US efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the harmful effects of climate change.
According to the EPA, transportation, which also includes ships, trains and planes, is the largest sector that warms the climate.
When EPA administrator Lee Zeldin announced he had eliminated greenhouse gas emissions from his cars, he touted more affordable prices and regulatory relief.
However, an assessment of the agency’s own draft suggests that the move could cost the economy hundreds of billions of dollars, USA Today reported earlier.
Biden EPA regulations increased the costs of new cars. The forecast released at the time shows that it ranges from $900 for a sedan to $2,600 for an SUV. But in the long run, cheaper maintenance and fuel savings offset these initial costs, and estimates that sedans and SUV drivers have saved $4,400 over the lifespan of the car.
The incentive to switch to electric vehicles added to savings has also disappeared. For example, those who buy new electric vehicles have not received $7,500 in federal tax credits. The Trump administration has also pulled out plugs of the Biden initiative to grow its network of electric vehicle chargers.
It has not yet been decided whether automakers will continue to adhere to future fuel economy standards, but Becker points out the past.
After fuel standards were first set, they remained roughly the same for about 20 years, and emissions did not improve further until they rose again during the Obama administration.
“Without the rules, car companies could not improve the efficiency of their vehicles,” Becker said.
Our Methodology
USA Today has analyzed the 100 most popular cars in the country. I looked at each model on the federal database to find the latest models available in miles per gallon ratings for the 2025 model, or some recent discontinued models. Each model comes in a variety of trims (such as 2WD and 4WD) with different fuel economy. To rely on conservative estimations, we used the most efficient trim except for EVS and plug-in electrical hybrids.
Using current fuel prices from energy and information management, we compared costs under current fuel economy for the economy needed in 2031.
Some warnings: The current car’s fuel economy ratings are taken under ideal laboratory conditions. Real-world fuel economy tends to be lower than lab ratings. The level the government needs doesn’t mean that all cars will meet or meet. These apply to automakers as fleet averages weighted by sales.
Potential fuel savings from alternatives that David Greene predicted that USA Today would save less, but still predicted to be a few hundred dollars. This method calculates a partial reduction in fuel consumption based on current and future fuel economy requirements.
