On December 5, 2025, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for the new “The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule III for Model Years 2022 to 2031 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks.” 90 Fed. Reg. 56,438 (Dec. 5, 2025). The NPRM proposes to reach back to revise fuel economy standards starting from newly proposed model year (MY) 2022 standards and then increasing in stringency at a rate of 0.5% per year through MY2026, followed by 0.25% per year through MY2031. By MY 2031, the revised standards would require an industry-wide fleet average of approximately 34.5 miles per gallon (mpg) for all light-duty vehicles (down from approximately 50.4 mpg finalized in prior standards set in 2024). Unlike the previous proposed and final rule under the Biden Administration, this NPRM does not propose any…
