Donald Trump has scrapped the Biden administration’s electric vehicle mandate and introduced a new set of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) rules, easing fuel-economy targets for automakers. Announced on Truth Social, the changes put forced electrification on hold, at least for now.
Trump blamed Democrats for wasting billions and pushing Americans into cars they never asked for. He said the new CAFE standards would “cut the waste” in US manufacturing and promised lower car prices and savings for families. He also pledged $100 billion for the US auto industry and said he wants factories back in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and South Carolina. Trump credited his Transportation and Commerce secretaries, Sean Duffy and Howard Lutnick, with making the overhaul happen.
Information from Politico and Reuters, the new CAFE target is approximately 34.5 miles per gallon by 2031, about a third less stringent than the previous Biden-era goal of 50.4 mpg.
The policy shift has direct consequences for automakers. Under Biden, the EPA set tough emissions targets and required carmakers to boost electric vehicle sales. Trump had already eliminated EV tax breaks with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. With CAFE rules relaxed, the cheapest way to comply is to keep improving combustion engines while expanding hybrids and microhybrids. That’s what General Motors, Ford and Stellantis have been asking for. Their wish list is now policy, unless the courts step in.
CAFE, short for Corporate Average Fuel Economy, is run by the NHTSA. It sets the average fuel use for each automaker’s fleet. Softer rules mean less pressure to sell electrics, giving gas engines a longer lease on life. The shift reflects politics, not EV performance. Changing the rules is cheaper than rebuilding factories from scratch.
Spanish drivers aren’t immune. Stellantis plants in Figueruelas and Vigo, along with Ford’s Almussafes site, all build cars for global markets. Their product plans are shaped in Washington as much as in Madrid. If the US slows its electric shift by five or ten years, models once planned as pure EVs could arrive in Spain as hybrids. Entry-level prices in some segments might stay flat longer than expected. But Trump’s promised savings won’t reach Spain: American rules won’t make Spanish cars cheaper.
Electrek reports that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates the softer CAFE standards could increase US fuel costs by $185 billion and raise emissions by about 5% compared with the previous targets.
The fight with California isn’t over. Trump has already signed three congressional resolutions to block the state’s diesel and electric vehicle mandates. He claims his signature will “kill California’s mandates forever” and says the state doesn’t have the power grid to support its plans. California’s rules often set the pace for other states. If the matter goes to court, automakers will have to juggle two sets of rules for months.
The final text and timing of the CAFE rules remain unsettled. Lawsuits from states with stricter standards are another concern, along with how manufacturers that have already spent billions on electrification will react. They won’t walk away quietly.
For those watching the Spanish car market, the short-term effect is small. The real change comes later: models arriving in 2027 and 2028 could look different, with more hybrids and fewer pure electrics. As reported earlier, the race for cheap EVs in Spain is already fierce. The US shift could slow the global rollout of new electric models.
Trump’s $100 billion pledge grabs headlines, but the real story is regulatory. General Motors, Ford and Stellantis now have the breathing room they wanted. Manufacturers that bet big on electrics lose a basic argument. Born in 1975 after the oil crisis, the CAFE standard has changed almost as often as the White House. This rewrite is a political move that will steer the industry for years. For now, the US is backing combustion engines, with effects that will reach far beyond its borders.
