Grade One Press

Technology reporting you can check

News · Energy, climate & transport

21 states, Washington DC and five cities sue over NHTSA's rewrite of US fuel economy standards

The petition challenges the SAFE III rule published on 30 September, which NHTSA calls a recalibration of the program. The states say it unlawfully weakens the standards.

Grade One Newsroom · 1 min read

Sources: 3 · top grade 1How evidence is graded

States and cities challenge NHTSA's new fuel economy rule in a federal appeals court

Grade 1 · Primary

Source: US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (filed by the petitioners)

What changed
On 2 October, 21 states, Washington DC and five cities asked the First Circuit appeals court to review NHTSA's SAFE III rule on fuel economy for model years 2022 to 2031.
Who it affects
Fuel economy standards for new passenger cars and light trucks sold in the US, which carmakers must meet across their fleets.
What it does not tell you
Who is right. The petition starts the case; the states' arguments and NHTSA's reasons have not yet been tested in court.

The full story Check the source

Twenty-one states, the District of Columbia and five cities asked a federal appeals court on 2 October to review the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's new rule on fuel economy standards [1].

The rule, "Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Rule III for Model Years 2022 to 2031 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks", or SAFE III, was published on 30 September [1][2].

The petition was filed in the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. California and Massachusetts lead it; the cities are Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco [1].

What it covers

NHTSA describes the rule as "substantially recalibrating" the corporate average fuel economy program. Its aim, NHTSA says, is "to bring the program into compliance with the law." It amends the standards for model years 2022 to 2026 and 2027 to 2031 [2].

The states argue the rule is arbitrary and capricious and violates the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, according to the New Mexico Department of Justice, one of the petitioners [3].

They claim it wrongly ignores the electric vehicles already on US roads when setting the standards, and that drivers would lose nearly $220 billion in fuel savings. Those are the states' claims, not findings [3].

The petition is related to an earlier challenge to NHTSA's 2025 "Resetting" rule, which was paused to wait for SAFE III [1].

What it does not tell you

Who will win. A petition for review only starts the case [1].

How much the standards change in miles per gallon. Neither the petition nor the rule's summary gives the numbers [1][2].

Sources and their grades

  1. US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (filed by the petitioners), State of California et al. v. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration et al., Petition for Review. Read 3 October 2026. Grade 1 · Primary Dated and file-stamped 2 October 2026; 9 pages. The copy is linked from the New Mexico Department of Justice's release. The URL here is that release; replace it with the petition's own link before publishing.
  2. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (Federal Register), The Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule III for Model Years 2022 to 2031 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks. Read 3 October 2026. Grade 1 · Primary 91 Fed. Reg. 61,988, 30 September 2026. The rule's own summary.
  3. New Mexico Department of Justice, Attorney General Raúl Torrez, AG Bonta and Coalition Challenge Trump Administration's Rollback of Fuel Economy Standards. Read 3 October 2026. Grade 5 · Own claim 2 October 2026. One side's account of its own case: its figures and characterisations are claims.

A grade says how much weight a source will take, from 1 (a body that can compel an answer and has nothing to sell) to 5 (somebody describing what they sell, or themselves). The standard sets out what each grade may be used for.

Filed under Energy Regulation

Comments

Commenting needs an account, made with nothing but an email address. A first comment is read before it appears.

More news

See all