By Morgan Sweeney
The Center Square

The federal government is relaxing Biden-era fuel economy standards that required most cars to have a fuel efficiency of nearly 50 mpg by 2031 in an effort to ease regulations for car manufacturers and make cars more affordable.

While the new Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards weren’t revealed in a White House announcement Wednesday afternoon, the presidents of Ford and Stellantis said they were more “aligned with customer demand” and would lead to more affordable vehicles for Americans.

“This CAFE standard that is aligned with customer demand is the right move for a lot of reasons,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said. “This allows us to invest in affordable vehicles made in the U.S., which we will take the lead on, and will allow us to make vehicles more affordable.”

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said that the revised regulations were “reconciled with real customers’ demand” and that the company is planning to increase production by 50%, creating 5,000 jobs.

The president said the rollback would make cars more affordable while enabling consumer choice.

“People were paying too much for a car that didn’t work as well. And now they’re going to be environmentally friendly but they’re gonna cost you a lot less,” said President Donald Trump.

To illustrate his point, Trump shared an anecdote about Ford having to make “numerous electric cars” to “sell one Ford 150″ based on previous policies accelerating the transition to electric vehicles.

“They were willing to lose money on building two or three electric cars that they couldn’t sell in order to make some money on the 150 because the 150 is a monster,” Trump said, with Farley nodding in the background.

The revised standards will save Americans an average of $1,000 on new cars and $109 billion in total over the next five years, according to the White House.

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said the changes would enable more Americans to buy cars and boost automobile manufacturing in the U.S.

“These rules are going to allow the automakers to make vehicles that Americans want to purchase, not vehicles that Joe Biden and [Pete] Buttigieg wants them to build, which is important, but also this is important for American jobs,” Duffy said. “So this is jobs, this is freedom, and this is common sense.”

Michigan, Kentucky and South Carolina were mentioned specifically as states where auto manufacturers intend to expand.