European Automakers Just Dodged a Bullet After Trump Torched Crushing Biden Regulations
Biden's war on cars nearly destroyed the European auto industry.
His fuel economy mandates were choking European manufacturers selling vehicles in America.
But European automakers just dodged a bullet after Trump torched crushing Biden regulations.
Trump Saves European Manufacturers From Biden's Nightmare
European automaker stocks exploded Thursday morning after President Trump reversed Biden's ridiculous fuel economy standards. By mid-morning trading, Porsche shares surged more than 5%, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo Car gained nearly 4%, Renault rose 3.3%, and Stellantis climbed around 2.7% after rallying 8% the previous day.¹
Trump stood in the Oval Office Wednesday alongside auto executives and lawmakers to announce the death of Biden's anti-car agenda.
"We're officially terminating Joe Biden's ridiculously burdensome, horrible, actually, CAFE standards that impose expensive restrictions and all sorts of problems — gave all sorts of problems to automakers," Trump said. "And we're not only talking about here, we're talking about outside of our country."²
The White House estimates the rollback could save Americans up to $109 billion over the next five years.³
Trump also announced he would revoke California's emission waivers after the Senate voted earlier this year to overturn them.
Biden Tried to Force Europe Into Electric Vehicle Madness
Biden's Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards would have required automakers to achieve an average of 50.4 miles per gallon across their vehicle fleets by model year 2031.⁴
That's completely unattainable without forcing electric vehicles nobody wants to buy.
The Biden administration mandated a 2% increase in fuel efficiency each year for vehicles produced between 2027 through 2031.⁵
These insane rules effectively created an electric vehicle mandate by making it impossible to meet the standards with traditional vehicles.
European luxury brands like Porsche, Mercedes, and BMW were staring down the barrel of either paying massive fines or rushing out half-baked electric models that would damage their reputations.
Take Porsche as the perfect example. Roughly a third of its global sales ship to North America. Models like the 911 or Cayenne don't exist in battery-electric form yet — at least not in volumes that could replace gasoline sales. Biden's trajectory meant either crushing fines or rushed electric variants that could destroy the brand.
Trump's action drops that requirement down to 34.5 miles per gallon — a target manufacturers can actually meet without bankruptcy.⁶
Automakers responded with relief. Ford CEO Jim Farley called the move a victory for common sense. "As America's largest auto producer, we appreciate President Trump's leadership in aligning fuel economy standards with market realities," Farley said. "We can make real progress on carbon emissions and energy efficiency while still giving customers choice and affordability."⁷
Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa praised the administration for policies that allow consumers "the freedom to choose the vehicles they want at prices they can afford."⁸
Even General Motors backed the idea of a single national standard instead of Biden's patchwork of impossible regulations.
Market analysts said the rollback was widely anticipated. Martino De Ambroggi of Equita noted the change should benefit the industry and pointed to reports the European Union may loosen or revise its planned 2035 ban on combustion-engine car sales.⁹
Translation: Trump just gave cover for Europe to back off their own insane green mandates.
Volvo Cars said it's too early to assess the effects but admitted the company has already announced plans to expand hybrid production in the United States with new models scheduled as late as 2029.¹⁰
They saw the writing on the wall — electric vehicles aren't selling like the climate cult promised.
Environmental Radicals Furious Trump Chose American Families Over Their Agenda
Environmental groups went into full meltdown mode over Trump putting American workers and consumers first.
Dan Becker, director of the Center for Biological Diversity's Safe Climate Transport Campaign, whined that Trump's action "will feed America's destructive use of oil, while hamstringing us in the green tech race."¹¹
Notice he didn't mention American families saving money or keeping their jobs. Just complaints about oil use and losing to China in a race Americans never asked to run.
But here's what the environmental lobby won't tell you. Consumer Reports found "no systemic, statistically significant increase" in inflation-adjusted vehicle prices from 2003 to 2021 even as fuel economy improved 30% over the same period.¹²
The organization estimated consumers saved "$7,000 in per-vehicle lifetime fuel savings for model year 2021 vehicles compared with model year 2003."¹³
Those savings came from gradual, market-driven improvements — not Biden's sledgehammer mandates forcing electric vehicles on unwilling buyers.
The average new vehicle now costs over $50,000 thanks in part to Biden's green agenda driving up production costs. Trump's rollback gives manufacturers flexibility to build cars people actually want at prices they can afford.
Biden's fuel standards broke the law by going far beyond the requirements Congress mandated when creating the CAFE program. The Biden standards effectively resulted in an electric vehicle mandate that American consumers didn't ask for, accompanied by massive cost-of-living increases.¹⁴
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Biden's previous rules drove up the cost of new cars and were "completely unattainable" for automakers.¹⁵
Bank of America analysts expressed optimism about the automotive sector following Trump's regulatory announcements, citing reduced compliance costs and operational flexibility for manufacturers. The analysts noted less regulatory pressure offers European automakers crucial breathing room.¹⁶
European manufacturers with substantial U.S. market exposure, including Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, stand to see the most significant benefit from the regulatory changes.
Trump campaigned on ending Biden's "electric vehicle mandate" — and he's delivering. This rollback represents the latest action by Trump to prevent Biden's EV-related policies from raising costs for Americans.
¹ Reuters, "European Carmakers Surge After Trump Rolls Back Fuel Rules," ZeroHedge, December 5, 2024.
² ABC News, "Trump announces roll back of Biden-era vehicle fuel efficiency rules: 'Expensive restrictions,'" December 3, 2025.
³ White House, "Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Announces the Reset of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards," December 3, 2025.
⁴ NPR, "Trump administration rolls back fuel economy standards," December 3, 2025.
⁵ ABC News, "Trump announces roll back of Biden-era vehicle fuel efficiency rules: 'Expensive restrictions,'" December 3, 2025.
⁶ Tomorrow Investor, "European Automakers Surge After Trump Proposes Relaxing US Fuel Economy Standards," December 4, 2025.
⁷ CBS News, "Trump administration moves to roll back fuel economy standards set under Biden," December 3, 2025.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ OilPrice.com, "Automaker Stocks Jump as U.S. Scraps Biden-Era Fuel Standards," December 5, 2025.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ PBS News, "WATCH: Trump announces plan to roll back fuel economy standards," December 3, 2025.
¹² ABC News, "Trump announces roll back of Biden-era vehicle fuel efficiency rules: 'Expensive restrictions,'" December 3, 2025.
¹³ Ibid.
¹⁴ White House, "Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Announces the Reset of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards," December 3, 2025.
¹⁵ CBS News, "Trump administration moves to roll back fuel economy standards set under Biden," December 3, 2025.
¹⁶ Tomorrow Investor, "European Automakers Surge After Trump Proposes Relaxing US Fuel Economy Standards," December 4, 2025.
