Key facts
- The Alliance for Automotive Innovation said automakers require certainty and stability in the standards in its filing with the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals.
- The group said setting the standards aside would affect automakers' business, endangering capital investment planning and product development for hundreds of new vehicle models.
- The Transportation Department said the rule reduces manufacturers' average cost per vehicle to comply by $1,289 but increases fuel costs by more than $1,600 over the life of the vehicles.
- The department said the rule would increase US gasoline consumption through 2050 by 4.6%, or about 121 billion gallons, compared with the Biden rules, and also boost new car sales.
- The states said the administration ignored the presence of millions of electric vehicles, leading to a flawed analysis of the maximum feasible fuel economy level.
- The American Petroleum Institute said the rules ensure standards do not force consumers to purchase vehicles that consume less fuel than they would otherwise choose.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group representing General Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, Ford Motor Co., Stellantis NV and other major automakers, backed the Trump administration in a legal challenge to its lower vehicle fuel economy standards, according to a filing with the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday, November 2.
The challenge was filed by Michigan, California and two dozen other states, cities and counties after the US Transportation Department finalized a fleet-wide fuel economy average of 34.9 miles per gallon by 2031. That is down from 50.4 miles per gallon approved under then-President Joe Biden in 2024.
In its filing, the alliance said automakers require certainty and stability in the standards. It said that if the standards were set aside, it would affect automakers' business, endangering capital investment planning, product development and performance validation for hundreds of new vehicle models intended for the US market.
The states argued the administration was ignoring the presence of millions of electric vehicles, leading to a flawed and distorted analysis of the maximum feasible fuel economy level. The automaker group said the court should reject those arguments. A coalition of environmental and consumer groups also filed a separate lawsuit challenging the new rules.
The Transportation Department said the regulation reduces manufacturers' average cost per vehicle to comply by $1,289 but increases fuel costs by more than $1,600 over the life of the vehicles. It said the rule would increase US gasoline consumption through 2050 by 4.6%, or about 121 billion gallons, compared with the Biden rules, and also boost new car sales.
The American Petroleum Institute, an oil and natural gas industry trade group, also filed in support of the administration's rules, saying they ensure the government sets standards that do not force consumers to purchase vehicles that consume less fuel than they would otherwise choose.