New Mexico joins coalition in car fuel efficiency lawsuit against Trump administration

New Mexico, in a coalition of 26 states, counties and cities, sued the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday over a rollback of fuel economy standards for passenger cars and trucks manufactured in the United States.

The Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards set average fuel economy levels for car manufacturers. The Trump administration announced revised rules Monday that now require carmakers to make new passenger cars and trucks up to 1% more fuel efficient each year — lowering the previous rule set by former President Joe Biden, which required an annual 2% increase. 

In the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, the coalition alleges that the revised rule is illegal and that NHTSA violated its mandate from Congress to set fuel-economy standards.

“Working families should not have to pay more at the pump because the federal government has chosen to weaken commonsense fuel-efficiency standards,” New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said in a statement. 

In announcing the revised rules, Trump administration officials said the cost of vehicles has increased due to the manufacturing cost of fuel efficiency technology. The revised rules, they added, would reduce the average cost of a new vehicle by $1,300.

“While Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg pushed a green agenda that made our roads less safe and drove up costs for hardworking Americans, this administration is delivering relief to families and reviving the beating heart of American manufacturing,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said in a statement.

Torrez joined California Attorney General Rob Bonta in a virtual news conference on Friday to announce the litigation.

Bonta said the rollback will increase gasoline consumption by billions of gallons and cost drivers nearly $220 billion at the pump by 2050. 

“More gasoline burned means more gasoline sold. This rule lines the pockets of Trump’s oil executive buddies and donors,” Bonta said. 

Torrez highlighted that the standards set by NHTSA impact the environment as more fuel efficiency in cars lowers the amount of fossil fuel emission.

“These standards help reduce fuel consumption, lower costs for consumers and protect New Mexicans from the economic consequences of volatile global oil markets,” Torrez said in a statement. “The Trump Administration should be working to make life more affordable for families, not making decisions that will drive up costs and put our economy and environment at greater risk.”