EMA
On December 5, 2025, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for Model Years 2022–2031 for passenger cars and light trucks. EMA worked with industry stakeholders, including NACS and NATSO, to support the agency’s decision to exclude electric vehicles (EVs) and electric-only performance from the CAFE standard-setting process.
The proposal would correct key legal flaws in the current standards by excluding EVs from the agency’s determination of “maximum feasible” fuel economy levels—a change the associations strongly support as both legally required and sound policy.
Restoring Compliance with EPCA
At the core of the comments is a straightforward statutory point: the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) does not permit NHTSA to consider EVs when setting fuel economy standards. EPCA expressly bars the agency from considering battery electric vehicles, which operate solely on electricity, and requires plug-in hybrid vehicles to be treated as if they operate only on gasoline or diesel fuel. Fuel economy is defined in terms of miles traveled per unit of fuel—confirming that the CAFE program is designed to regulate vehicles that consume motor fuels.
The current CAFE standards departed from these statutory limits by effectively using EV performance to ratchet up stringency across the fleet. NHTSA has now acknowledged that approach was unlawful, and the associations strongly support the agency’s effort to restore a lawful baseline.
The comments also explain that using CAFE standards to force a nationwide transition to EVs raises serious concerns under the major questions doctrine. Mandating electrification through fuel economy standards is an economically and politically significant policy choice—one Congress has repeatedly debated and declined to adopt. Nothing in EPCA provides the “clear congressional authorization” required for NHTSA to impose such a mandate indirectly.
“EPCA is an energy-efficiency statute, not an energy-substitution one. The law was enacted to improve fuel efficiency––not to impose a resource shifting mandate that restructures the automotive market by compelling a transition from one propulsion technology to another,” said EMA Regulatory Counsel Jorge Roman.
Better Policy Outcomes for Motorists
Aside from the statutory boundaries of EPCA, excluding EVs from the CAFE calculus will lead to better real-world outcomes. By returning to performance-based standards focusing on improvements to internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, the proposal can unlock innovation in both ICE technologies and liquid fuels. Additionally, avoiding a force transition can preserve consumer choice and affordability for motorists.
“Allowing CAFE standards to function as a backdoor mechanism for regulating emissions or forcing fleetwide electrification is contrary to both the plain language of the statute and its legislative intent,” said EMA President Rob Underwood. “We will continue to make the case that CAFE is an energy-efficiency program—not a vehicle electrification mandate.”
