As Ford Authority reported yesterday, part of the new spending bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump eliminates the requirement for automakers to pay fines for not meeting increasingly-stringent Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. This is huge news for Ford and its peers, which have thus far paid out hundreds of millions of dollars for failing to meet those rules. Now, Trump has revealed that automakers won’t be on the hook for fines dating back a few model years – not just moving forward.
According to Reuters, automakers won’t be required to pay fines for missing CAFE standards dating back to the 2022 model year. Last year alone, Stellantis paid $190.7 million in fines for the 2019 and 2020 model years, which came after it shelled out nearly $400 million for penalties from 2016-2019. General Motors was also forced to pay $128.2 million in penalties for 2016 and 2017, all while Tesla received a whopping $2.8 billion across the globe for selling credits to other automakers.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is currently working on potentially revising existing CAFE standards, news that comes after the Ford-backed lobby group Alliance for Automotive Innovation estimated that the stricter 2027-2031 rules could cost automakers a collective $14 billion. As of right now, model year 2025 passenger cars are required to achieve an average of 53.4 miles per gallon, while light-duty trucks must net 38.2 mpg. In the 2027-2031 model years, those targets are set to increase by two percent annually, ultimately reaching 65 mpg for passenger cars and 45.2 mpg for light-duty trucks by 2031.
CAFE standards were signed into law way back in 1975 as a way to reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels amid an oil crisis, and have served to entice automakers to make more efficient vehicles as a result. However, many have criticized steeply increasing standards imposed as of late, noting that the resulting fines could be better used to fund the ongoing EV transition.
Joining the Puma Gen-E in that regard.
Shame this never made it to production.
A nice example of the large sedan.
Sales increased 11 percent to 8,918 units during the first seven months of 2025.
The patient is expected to make it.
