On December 3, President Donald Trump announced plans to roll back fuel economy standards established under the Biden administration, claiming the move will “save Americans $109 billion over five years and shave $1,000 off the average cost of a new car.”

Biden administration officials had estimated that the fuel efficiency rule, which required automakers’ new vehicles to achieve approximately 50 mpg on average by 2031, would “lower fuel costs by $23 billion while preventing more than 710 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere by 2050 — the equivalent of taking 165,000 cars off the roads.”

Fox’s  coverage of Trump’s fuel economy rollback pushed White House talking points that it would make car buying more affordable and reverse costly Biden-era regulations, with Fox host Will Cain calling the move “a win for the American consumer.” But industry experts and at least one Fox Business host dispute the claim that lowering the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards will lower the price of cars for consumers. 

Gas price expert Patrick De Haan did not mince words, calling the attempt to connect fuel economy to affordability “STUPID!” 

“If you want to know why cars cost more, look at tariffs, commodity spikes, electronics, and supply chain changes — not long-established fuel economy rules,” he continued. “Weakening CAFE standards could backfire and lead to HIGHER gas prices if vehicles become less efficient.”

In fact, two major drivers impacting car affordability are actions taken by the Trump administration: auto tariffs and repeal of the electrical vehicle tax subsidy.  

According to Kelley Blue Book, an American vehicle valuation and automotive research company, “Shoppers can expect the tariffs to increase car prices by as much as $6,000 on vehicles priced under $40,000. Higher car prices mean higher car taxes, financing, car insurance, and other ownership costs. This price pressure will make cars less affordable for consumers.” 

And Bloomberg writes: “It’s not clear that relaxing the standard will result in lower sticker prices anytime soon — if at all — since carmakers plan their lineups years in advance. And it won’t do anything to address added costs from tariffs Trump has imposed on cars and car parts with the promise of reshoring domestic manufacturing.”  

Nevertheless, here’s how Fox News and Fox Business are pushing the affordability narrative while pinning the high cost of cars on Biden in the wake of Trump’s announced fuel economy standard rollback:

• Fox Business’ David Asman: “President Trump is cranking up his affordability push, announcing new energy standards today aiming to ease the pressure on car prices.” Correspondent Edward Lawrence reported, “They believe here at the White House that rolling back these very strict standards that were put in place by the Biden administration would save about $109 billion in total when buying a car,” adding that Trump called “the auto mandates and regulations added by the last administration ‘insane.’” [Fox Business, Kudlow, 12/3/25]

• Fox News host Will Cain: “Today was a win for auto manufacturers. It was also a win for the American consumer, who now has cheaper and more affordable options. But it was also a win for reality.” [Fox News, The Will Cain Show, 12/3/25]

• Fox News host Sean Hannity: “The price of gas nationwide [is] under $3 per gallon — oh, for the first time since the last Trump administration. But with less than a year into his second term, President Trump is only getting started cleaning up the mess that Biden left behind. And a big part of that effort is a new directive to undo Joe Biden's ridiculous, costly, insane, burdensome regulation.” [Fox News, Hannity, 12/3/25]

• National Review writer Caroline Downey on Fox News @ Night: “It doesn't take a mechanic to tell you that the point of that regulation was to force the country to adopt electric vehicles en masse. … Obviously, that consumer was going to get the cost of that in the end result. And so I think it's very important that President Trump is phasing this out because, of course, affordability is the buzzword of the day both to Democrats and Republicans.” [Fox News, Fox News @ Night, 12/3/25]

• Fox & Friends co-host and former Trump White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany: “Here is the brilliance of all of this is the Trump administration takes a whole-of-government approach. … They are doing this with affordability and they’ve started to show their work. Look, you are looking now. You just described the meeting, Brian, bringing down those CAFE standards. So there is one way they’re making life more affordable – your car.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 12/4/25]

• Fox Business host Jackie DeAngelis: “President Trump understands because of the affordability crisis that he needs to get the messaging out there. … You talk about the green push under Joe Biden. That really hurt Americans. He is trying to roll back these regulations, change the standards so that cars become more affordable.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, 12/4/25]

• Fox host Lisa Kennedy Montgomery: “It's important if you are an automaker and you want to make money and if you want to make affordable cars that people can make and buy in the United States. I think that's priority No. 1 for GM and Ford, but unfortunately they have been beholden to the standards — these ultra-leftist standards — that are telling car manufacturers we have to have an arbitrary fuel economy number by the year 2031.” [Fox News, The Five, 12/4/25]