“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 because nobody could do it. Nobody wanted to do it and it was ridiculous. Very expensive.”

The reversal of Biden-era requirements will force automakers to achieve an average of roughly 50 miles per gallon across 2031 model-year vehicles.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released its legal rationale for rolling back the Biden-era rules in June, saying the Biden administration overstepped its legal authority by including electric vehicles.

Trump’s announcement on Wednesday is also meant to make it easier for automakers to sell gas-powered cars and limit the shift to EVs. Trump has long derided EVs, given his longtime advocacy of fossil fuels.

GAS PRICES: NATIONAL AVERAGE FALLS TO UNDER $3 PER GALLON FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2021

“Today, we’re taking one more step to kill the Green New Scam,” Trump bragged.

“From day one, I’ve been taking action to make buying a car more affordable. I signed an executive order to end the unfair, expensive electric vehicle mandate,” Trump added.

Executives from Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis attended the announcement on Wednesday.

“As America’s largest auto producer, we appreciate President Trump’s leadership in aligning fuel economy standards with market realities,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said before the event began. “We can make real progress on carbon emissions and energy efficiency while still giving customers choice and affordability. This is a win for customers and common sense.”

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa added, “Stellantis appreciates the Trump administration’s actions to realign the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards with real-world market conditions as part of its wider vision for a growing U.S. automotive industry. We look forward to working further with NHTSA on environmentally responsible policies that also allow us to offer our customers the freedom to choose the vehicles they want at prices they can afford.”

In June, Trump signed a measure preventing California from banning the sale of gas-powered vehicles by 2035. He also signed two other resolutions blocking California from curbing tailpipe emissions in some vehicles and smog-forming nitrogen oxide pollution from trucks.

The Trump administration has blamed Biden for imposing standards that have increased the price of new cars. Car prices hit a high of $50,000 in September, a staggering sum for the average consumer.

“The action is expected to save the typical consumer at least $1,000 off the price of a new car, and we think substantially more than that,” Trump claimed.

Trump has faced growing criticism from the public over high prices. The new fuel standards are an effort to address a rising affordability crisis that has Americans taking out their anger on the GOP just one year after he won reelection to the White House.

“GM supports the goals of NHTSA’s proposed CAFE rule and its intention to better align fuel economy standards with market realities,” a GM spokesperson said. “We have long advocated for one national standard that upholds customer choice and provides the auto industry long-term stability. As we review the proposal, we remain committed to offering the best and broadest portfolio of electric and gas-powered vehicles on the market.”

Separately, Trump claimed he is tapping Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who was in attendance at the announcement, to begin production of new cars after visiting Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia, and admiring their small cars, such as Volkswagen’s Beetle.

“They’re very small. They’re really cute. And they said, how would that do in this country? And everyone seems to think, good, but you’re not allowed to build them,” said Trump. “And I’ve authorized the secretary to immediately approve the production of those cars. So you’ll be able to buy … they really are there actually, some of them are really beautiful actually.”

Gina McCarthy, former White House national climate advisor and EPA administrator, slammed Trump’s new standards in a statement.

“If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that this administration will never act in the best interest of our health or the environment,” McCarthy said. “The rest of the world will continue to innovate and create cleaner cars that people want to buy and drive, while we’re forced to sit in our clunkers, paying more for gas, and pumping out more tailpipe emissions.”

“With their backwards thinking and never-ending efforts to create more pollution in this country, we are ceding the global car market and technological innovation to China,” she continued.

Callie Patteson contributed to this report.