Dive Brief: A coalition of cities, counties and states on Friday filed a petition for review challenging the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s final rule lowering corporate average fuel economy standards for new passenger cars and light trucks.
The petition, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, alleges that NHTSA’s final rule is arbitrary and capricious and violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the Energy Policy and Conservation Act.
Dive Insight: In 1975, Congress enacted the Energy Policy and Conservation Act requiring NHTSA to establish “maximum feasible” fuel economy standards for new vehicles.
The Trump administration last month finalized new fuel efficiency standards, weakening former President Joe Biden’s standards that would have required automakers to increase the fuel efficiency of passenger cars and light trucks to roughly 50 miles per gallon by 2031.
“However, the final rule significantly weakens fuel economy standards, harming both consumers and the planet at the exact moment when global gasoline prices are soaring.”