Yesterday, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy alongside President Donald J. Trump in the Oval Office unveiled the Administration’s new “Freedom Means Affordable Cars” proposal to reset the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)’s corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards. This action will save American families from bearing a hidden cost-of-living increase in auto prices caused by a Biden-Buttigieg illegal backdoor EV mandate that jacked up car prices for American families and forced manufacturers to produce vehicles no one wanted.
See what they are saying below:
Jim Farley, Chief Executive Officer at Ford:
“Today is a victory of common sense and affordability. We’re very proud of Ford to be the number one auto producer in our country…We believe that people should be able to make a choice, as you said, Mr. President, and we will invest more in affordable vehicles. This allows us to invest in affordable vehicles made in the U.S., which we will take the lead on.”
John Urbanic, Executive Plant Director at GM Orion Assembly in Michigan:
“We support [President Trump’s] leadership for this issue that is so important to the auto industry. I’m here representing the hardworking men and women of Orion Assembly in Michigan. Our manufacturing facility there is currently going through a retool so that we can build additional U.S. manufactured pickup trucks and full-size sport utilities for our customers.”
Antonio Filosa, Chief Executive Officer at Stellantis:
“It’s a great day for us at Stellantis today because it’s a day where we see CAFE regulation reconcile with real customer demand. That’s why Stellantis–we decided to invest into Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler, $13 billion in the next four years, increasing production by 50%, delivering to the market five new vehicles and creating 5,000 additional jobs. That’s because we believe in what you say and all your team is doing in this country. We believe in growth and we are ready to invest even more… And we are very looking forward to work with Secretary for your team in the future for the next steps…We’ll get ready for those cars because we’ve already cleared the way.”
Tom Castriota, Chairman of the National Automobile Dealers:
“What the actions that [President Trump and his administration have] done are definitely going to save our customers money. And you made your promises that let the consumer buy what they want, sir, and you deliver on that…on behalf of all the dealers and our customers, we appreciate what you and your administration have done.”
American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers:
“Today’s action is a win for American drivers. We commend President Trump and Secretary Duffy for restoring commonsense fuel-economy standards that recognize the realities of today’s marketplace and the need to preserve affordable choices for families and businesses. We will continue to work with the administration on durable policies that strengthen American energy leadership and preserve the full range of vehicle options families and businesses rely on every day.”
U.S. Chamber’s Global Energy Institute President Marty Durbin:
“The Trump Administration’s proposal puts the focus back on consumer choice and affordability and will benefit manufacturers and consumers alike.”
American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers President and CEO Chet Thompson:
“Past administrations used CAFE standards as a back door mechanism to force electric vehicle adoption – a clear and unlawful misuse of the program. We’re optimistic this proposal aligns with EPCA’s directive for standards to be ambitious yet feasible for internal combustion engine vehicles, and that it will support a more efficient vehicle fleet while also protecting consumers’ access to the types of cars and trucks they want and can afford to drive.”
MichAuto Executive Director & Detroit Regional Chamber Chief Automotive and Innovation Officer Glenn Stevens Jr.:
“The revised CAFE standards announced yesterday by President Donald Trump are a welcome change for the industry and are expected to help increase affordability in the new vehicle market, where the average price currently sits at $50,000. As was the case this summer when Congress revoked California’s EPA waiver that would have imposed extreme emissions standards on several states, this is a practical step to provide the industry greater stability and flexibility to plan, design, and build products better aligned with market realities, which is essential for our automotive companies to compete.”
Kevin Hassett, Director of the National Economic Council:
“There’s a massive macroeconomic benefit to what we’re doing today. And the way to think about it is, the Honda has the best gasoline mileage that you can buy at 36 miles per gallon. Joe Biden wanted to make every car on average be above 50…what he wanted to do is make everybody have an electric car. But here’s the thing, that if everybody had an electric car, then nobody would be buying gasoline anymore…and so we would have to increase the production of electricity in the U.S. by 25% over the next couple of years, if they had their way. [President Trump] really stopped a massive disruption for the economy with this.”
Alliance for Automotive Innovation President and CEO John Bozzella:
“We’ve been clear and consistent: The current CAFE rules finalized under the previous administration are extremely challenging for automakers to achieve given the current marketplace for EVs. What’s good for consumers and the auto industry? A stable regulatory environment and balanced, reasonable, achievable standards that continue to reduce emissions and improve fuel economy. These also happen to be policies that will preserve consumer choice and keep the U.S. auto industry globally competitive.”
Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson:
“Great News–President Trump fixes another issue to make life more affordable for American families. President Trump just stopped the Democrats’ costly EV mandate – a scheme that would have driven up the price of every new car. This is a huge win for working families. It protects consumer choice, keeps cars affordable, and blocks yet another Democrat-made price hike.”
U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt (Missouri):
“This is going to go a long way for making things more affordable for normal people. Nothing could be more American than driving a car on a highway, and this is going to make that more accessible for more people.”
U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno (Ohio):
“The person who sat behind this desk before [President Trump] gave subsidies to multimillionaires who are leasing electric Rolls-Royces, electric Porsches, electric Lamborghinis…and these Democrats sit on this floor and say that Republicans are for millionaires and billionaires… before [President Trump] was sworn in, 51% of the cars that were sold in America were made in America. Last month, that number was 57%. We moved it six points, which nobody thought would be possible in four years. We did it in 10 months…and we’ve driven down the price of automobiles.”
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas):
“This is a victory today for consumers. This is a victory for affordability. [President Trump’s] critics like to say the word affordability. Under Joe Biden and the Democrats, they put mandate after mandate after mandate on cars and trucks and they drove the price up thousands and thousands of dollars…You can now as a consumer buy the car you want, it also means people’s lives will be safer. Because what these regulations did is they forced cars to be more expensive and made of plastic instead of steel, because you had to make them lighter to comply with these standards. So, you’d get in a wreck and people would die…you’re literally saving people’s lives and you’re making it where families can afford to get a new car. These actions will drop the cost of cars and trucks, thousands of dollars. That makes a real difference.”
U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (PA-16):
“The American people have always been able to choose what they want to buy. They don’t want to be taken out of a market by people who don’t even drive their own car and say, this is the way you’ve got to go. And the fact that we can build a car that’s affordable that people want to buy, that’s the key to it. What [this administration has done] is unlock the most ridiculous statute that ever came in with CAFE.”
U.S. Rep. Roger Williams (TX-25):
“This is huge for the local car dealer. We’re going to be able to sell what the customer wants. The manufacturer is going to make what the customer wants…it’s going to be a great opportunity for the dealer body to sell what consumers want…Car dealers employ a lot of people. It’s going to be a great year for us…from a retail standpoint, we appreciate the manufacturers stepping up and building cars that customers want and that we want to sell.”
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (FL-16):
“The [automakers] got into the e-vehicles, electric cars, and I’m talking to dealers and they couldn’t sell one, they couldn’t give one away. And when these companies did this because of whatever political pressure under the Biden administration, they end up realizing that they’ve got no market. The guy says the car’s been sitting there a year, he can’t get rid of it… [Restoring CAFE standards] is big, it’s huge, it’ll make a big difference.”
U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (West Virginia):
“This is about affordability here…do you know what a car does for a family? You can take your children to school, you can go to the store, you can visit your mother, you can go to church, you can have a job. You have the flexibility that you need. A car for an American family is about a roadway to prosperity. It’s a big deal. By making them more affordable, making them more choice driven by what families want and need, today is a great day for the American family and the American worker.”
U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (MO-6):
“From a rural perspective these CAFE standards were absolutely unworkable in rural Missouri. We need vehicles that are practical and affordable and can haul for our small businesses, for agriculture. And it just simply didn’t work, those CAFE standards didn’t work. I applaud [President Trump] and Secretary Duffy for your hard work and what you’re doing on behalf of rural America.”
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (Tennessee):
“In Tennessee we make great automobiles, and we have a fantastic workforce. And whether you’re GM or Ford with their new investment in Tennessee, or Nissan or VW or Toyota with the engine plant, what you see is the components that are necessary to build these cars. And removing these standards and making cars more affordable does mean that more people will purchase them. But it also means we’re going to have to make more cars to meet that demand. And for Tennessee that is a great thing.”
U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson (OH-12):
“My family is a former Chrysler Dodge dealer of 48 years…I remember under President Obama, when the CAFE standards changed…and going through those challenging times as a Chrysler dealer…thank you very much for being here and making these changes.”
U.S. Rep. David Rouzer (NC-7):
“I applaud President Trump and Secretary Duffy for revising the previous Administration’s radical and unnecessary fuel economy mandates and their horrendous impact on working family budgets. The Biden-era approach forced unrealistic fuel efficiency standards on manufacturers, driving up the cost of new cars and trucks and limiting consumer choice – especially for rural families, small businesses, and farmers. The Trump Administration’s decision to recalibrate these standards based on common sense is a great step towards affordability.”