Biden finalizes another softened fuel economy rule, still saves US billions
The Department of Transportation has finalized its newest Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, requiring an increase in fuel economy that will reduce pollution and save Americans $23 billion in fuel costs. But like other recently adopted standards, they are nevertheless softer than the administration had originally sought.
The new CAFE standards cover model years 2027-2031 and target a fuel economy increase of 2% per year, bringing average fuel economy for light duty vehicles up to 50.4 miles per gallon in 2031. The increases are larger for heavy duty pickups and vans, with 10% increases from 2030-2032 and 8% from 2033-2035, targeting 35mpg average for these vehicles by 2035.
The DoT says the new rule will save car and truck owners $600-700 over the lifetime of their vehicles, and save the country $23 billion in fuel costs total. They will reduce carbon emissions by 710 million tons and save 70 billion gallons of gas by 2050.
Nevertheless, these rules are much softer than the administration had originally proposed, as the proposed rule would have targeted 55.7mpg, rather than 50.4mpg.
(Note: CAFE fuel economy calculations are more lenient than EPA calculations, especially on electric vehicles (though that calculation just changed too), so cars won’t see an average of 50mpg in the real world)
These numbers are much lower than the effect of the EPA’s newly-finalized emissions rules, which the administration said will save $100 billion per year in fuel and health costs, cut 7 billion tons of climate pollution, and save $6,000 per vehicle. Those standards were also softened from the original proposal in response to automaker lobbying.
The two rules are meant to complement each other, attacking the problem of pollution and fuel costs from different angles.
The EPA’s rules regulate tailpipe pollution in a technology-agnostic way, allowing automakers flexibility in how they meet higher emissions standards. And CAFE simply sets an average fuel economy requirement – which is also technology-agnostic, and automakers can meet it by increasing efficiency in whatever way they see fit.
In either case, a higher electric vehicle share is the easiest way to meet the new numbers, so both will encourage automakers to offer more consumer choice of high-tech, low-polluting electric vehicles. The DoE also recently reduced how much “extra credit” EVs get, which means automakers can’t just sell a few EVs to meet higher targets, and will have to offer a greater EV share. This new calculation will make the new CAFE rules more effective, offsetting some of the disappointment from the lower mileage target.
The complementary rules will also be more resilient to legal challenges from a republican party that is hostile to human health and the pocketbooks of Americans. Senator Ted Cruz already said that he will try to reverse the money-saving rule through the Congressional Review Act, though it is unlikely that this effort will bear fruit.
In addition, several republican attorneys general have already filed suit against the EPA regulation, demanding that Americans be saddled with higher fuel costs and more poisonous air in order to satiate their donors in Big Oil. And the convicted felon running for president on the republican ticket has told oil companies he will take $1 billion in bribes in exchange for efforts to make cars more expensive for Americans.
But both are well within the purview of the EPA’s and DoT’s mandates, as has been recognized many times in the past. And even if the US supreme court ignores the law to rule against one (as they have done before), the other might survive for longer.
Reaction to today’s CAFE rule was mixed. Environmental and health groups were mostly positive on it with Sierra Club and American Lung Association supporting the changes, though Dan Becker of the Center for Biological Diversity said the rules don’t go far enough and that the administration “caved to automaker pressure.”
Automakers, for their part, supported the changes, through the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the main automaker lobbyist. AAI President John Bozzella (who we have repeatedly covered for lying to support more pollution) said that the rule “works with the other recent federal tailpipe rules,” which was AAI’s main desire – to ensure that the various government rules were complementary of one another, instead of in conflict. That said, given his opposition to reasonable rules in the past, his acceptance of this rule does inspire some skepticism.
Beyond these rules, the administration has implemented lots of other policies to encourage the transition to EVs.
To take care of upfront costs, the Inflation Reduction Act includes credits for light- and heavy-duty EV purchases and charger installations, along with incentives for domestic manufacturing. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law incentivizes chargers further.
On the commercial/heavy side, ports get specific support from the Clean Ports Program, as do school buses, and the EPA is ensuring that California will remain a testbed for even better environmental rules. The administration also recently released a master infrastructure plan to electrifying all the US’ freight routes by 2040.
Biden also recently increased tariffs on EVs, supposedly to help encourage domestic manufacturing. But this is probably the wrong way to approach the problem.
Electrek’s Take
We can basically copy our Take from any other recent article on these emissions standards.
On the one hand, it’s great to see things moving forward, and the government does seem to be working on electrification from every angle.
On the other hand, this doesn’t move forward fast enough, and we need to stop listening to automakers begging government to let them go bankrupt as they refuse to move quickly enough on the transition.
The transition is coming, and within a couple decades, every car on the road has to be electric. Not only are they better, and consumer demand will move in the direction of EVs for that reason anyway (likely in advance of targets, as we’ve seen before), but rapid electrification of transport is required if we want to have any chance of avoiding the worst effects of climate change.
At this point, we cannot move to cleaner transport fast enough, and any standard yet proposed by any nation is not strong enough to meet the environmental needs of the planet. So all of these standards could bear to be stronger, this one among them.
We still need to celebrate movement in the right direction, and recognize that the opposition wants to move in a worse direction, which would cause more harm to Americans and to every living being on Earth.
But we can be disappointed and ask for more, which we do again today, as we have in the past.
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Robinhood stock hit an all-time high Friday as the financial services platform continued to rip higher this year, along with bitcoin and other crypto stocks.
Robinhood, up more than 160% in 2025, hit an intraday high above $101 before pulling back and closing slightly lower.
The reversal came after a Bloomberg report that JPMorgan plans to start charging fintechs for access to customer bank data, a move that could raise costs across the industry.
For fintech firms that rely on thin margins to offer free or low-cost services to customers, even slight disruptions to their cost structure can have major ripple effects. PayPal and Affirm both ended the day nearly 6% lower following the report.
Despite its stellar year, the online broker is facing several headwinds, with a regulatory probe in Florida, pushback over new staking fees and growing friction with one of the world’s most high-profile artificial intelligence companies.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier opened a formal investigation into Robinhood Crypto on Thursday, alleging the platform misled users by claiming to offer the lowest-cost crypto trading.
“Robinhood has long claimed to be the best bargain, but we believe those representations were deceptive,” Uthmeier said in a statement.
The probe centers on Robinhood’s use of payment for order flow — a common practice where market makers pay to execute trades — which the AG said can result in worse pricing for customers.
Robinhood Crypto General Counsel Lucas Moskowitz told CNBC its disclosures are “best-in-class” and that it delivers the lowest average cost.
“We disclose pricing information to customers during the lifecycle of a trade that clearly outlines the spread or the fees associated with the transaction, and the revenue Robinhood receives,” added Moskowitz.
Robinhood is also facing opposition to a new 25% cut of staking rewards for U.S. users, set to begin October 1. In Europe, the platform will take a smaller 15% cut.
Staking allows crypto holders to earn yield by locking up their tokens to help secure blockchain networks like ethereum, but platforms often take a percentage of those rewards as commission.
Robinhood’s 25% cut puts it in line with Coinbase, which charges between 25.25% and 35% depending on the token. The cut is notably higher than Gemini’s flat 15% fee.
It marks a shift for the company, which had previously steered clear of staking amid regulatory uncertainty.
Under President Joe Biden‘s administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission cracked down on U.S. platforms offering staking services, arguing they constituted unregistered securities.
With President Donald Trump in the White House, the agency has reversed course on several crypto enforcement actions, dropping cases against major players like Coinbase and Binance and signaling a more permissive stance.
Even as enforcement actions ease, Robinhood is under fresh scrutiny for its tokenized stock push, which is a growing part of its international strategy.
The company now offers blockchain-based assets in Europe that give users synthetic exposure to private firms like OpenAI and SpaceX through special purpose vehicles, or SPVs.
An SPV is a separate entity that acquires shares in a company. Users then buy tokens of the SPV and don’t have shareholder privileges or voting rights directly in the company.
OpenAI has publicly objected, warning the tokens do not represent real equity and were issued without its approval. In an interview with CNBC International, CEO Vlad Tenev acknowledged the tokens aren’t technically equity shares, but said that misses the broader point.
“What’s important is that retail customers have an opportunity to get exposure to this asset,” he said, pointing to the disruptive nature of AI and the historically limited access to pre-IPO companies.
“It is true that these are not technically equity,” Tenev added, noting that institutional investors often gain similar exposure through structured financial instruments.
The Bank of Lithuania — Robinhood’s lead regulator in the EU — told CNBC on Monday that it is “awaiting clarifications” following OpenAI’s statement.
“Only after receiving and evaluating this information will we be able to assess the legality and compliance of these specific instruments,” a spokesperson said, adding that information for investors must be “clear, fair, and non-misleading.”
Tenev responded that Robinhood is “happy to continue to answer questions from our regulators,” and said the company built its tokenized stock program to withstand scrutiny.
“Since this is a new thing, regulators are going to want to look at it,” he said. “And we expect to be scrutinized as a large, innovative player in this space.”
SEC Chair Paul Atkins recently called the model “an innovation” on CNBC’s Squawk Box, offering some validation as Robinhood leans further into its synthetic equity strategy — even as legal clarity remains in flux across jurisdictions.
Despite the regulatory noise, many investors remain focused on Robinhood’s upside, and particularly the political tailwinds.
The company is positioning itself as a key beneficiary of Trump’s newly signed megabill, which includes $1,000 government-seeded investment accounts for newborns. Robinhood said it’s already prototyping an app for the ‘Trump Accounts‘ initiative.
WATCH: Watch CNBC’s full interview with Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev
Korean auto giants Hyundai and Kia think lower-priced EVs will help minimize the blow from the new US auto tariffs. Hyundai is set to unveil a new entry-level electric car soon, which will be sold alongside the Kia EV2. Will it be the IONIQ 2?
Hyundai and Kia shift to lower-priced EVs
Hyundai and Kia already offer some of the most affordable and efficient electric vehicles on the market, with models like the IONIQ 5 and EV6.
In Europe, Korea, Japan, and other overseas markets, Hyundai sells the Inster EV (sold as the Casper Electric in Korea), an electric city car. The Inster EV starts at about $27,000 (€23,900), but Hyundai will soon offer another lower-priced EV, similar to the upcoming Kia EV2.
The Inster EV is seeing strong initial demand in Europe and Japan. According to a local report (via Newsis), demand for the Casper Electric is so high that buyers are waiting over a year for delivery.
Hyundai is doubling down with plans to introduce an even more affordable EV, rumored to be the IONIQ 2. Xavier Martinet, CEO of Hyundai Motor Europe, said during a recent interview that “The new electric vehicle will be unveiled in the next few months.”
The new EV is expected to be a compact SUV, which will likely resemble the upcoming Kia EV2. Kia will launch the EV2 in Europe and other global regions in 2026.
Hyundai is keeping most details under wraps, but the expected IONIQ 2 is likely to sit below the Kona Electric as a smaller city EV.
More affordable electric cars are on the way
Although nothing is confirmed, it’s expected to be priced at around €30,000 ($35,000), or slightly less than the Kia EV3.
The Kia EV3 starts at €35,990 in Europe and £33,005 in the UK, or about $42,000. Through the first half of the year, Kia’s compact electric SUV is the UK’s most popular EV.
Like the Hyundai IONIQ models and Kia’s other electric vehicles, the EV3 is based on the E-GMP platform. It’s available with two battery packs: 58.3 kWh or 81.48 kWh, providing a WLTP range of up to 430 km (270 miles) and 599 km (375 miles), respectively.
Hyundai is expected to reveal the new EV at the IAA Mobility show in Munich in September. Meanwhile, Kia is working on a smaller electric car to sit below the EV2 that could start at under €25,000 ($30,000).
According to the report, Hyundai and Kia are doubling down on lower-priced EVs to balance potential losses from the new US auto tariffs.
Despite opening its new EV manufacturing plant in Georgia to boost local production, Hyundai is still expected to expand sales in other regions. An industry insider explained, “Considering the risk of US tariffs, Hyundai’s move to target the European market with small electric vehicles is a natural strategy.”
Although Hyundai is expanding in other markets, it remains a leading EV brand in the US. The IONIQ 5 remains a top-selling EV with over 19,000 units sold through June.
After delivering the first IONIQ 9 models in May, Hyundai reported that over 1,000 models had been sold through the end of June, its three-row electric SUV.
While the $7,500 EV tax credit is still here, Hyundai is offering generous savings with leases for the 2025 IONIQ 5 starting as low as $179 per month. The three-row IONIQ 9 starts at just $419 per month. And Hyundai is even throwing in a free ChargePoint Home Flex Level 2 charger if you buy or lease either model.
Unfortunately, we likely won’t see the entry-level EV2 or IONIQ 2 in the US. However, Kia is set to launch its first electric sedan, the EV4, in early 2026.
Ready to take advantage of the savings while they are still here? You can use our links below to find deals on Hyundai and Kia EV models in your area.
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As EVBox shuts down its Everon business across Europe and North America, EV charging provider Blink Charging is stepping up to offer support to customers caught in the transition.
EVBox’s software arm Everon recently announced it’s winding down operations alongside EVBox’s AC charger business. That’s left a lot of charging station hosts and drivers wondering what comes next. Now, EVBox Everon is pointing its customers toward Blink as a recommended alternative.
Blink says it’s ready to help, whether that means keeping existing chargers up and running or replacing aging gear with new Blink chargers.
“EVBox has played a significant role in the growth of EV charging infrastructure across the UK and Mainland Europe, and we recognize the trust hosts have placed in its solutions,” said Alex Calnan, Blink Charging’s managing director of Europe. “With the recent announcement of Everon’s withdrawal from the EV charging market, it’s natural to have questions about what this means for operations. At Blink, we want to assure Everon customers that we are here to help them navigate this transition.”
Blink says it’s able to offer advice, replacements, and ongoing network management to make the changeover as smooth as possible.
Everon users who switch to Blink will get access to the Blink Network portal via the Blink Charging app. That opens up real-time insight into charger usage and lets hosts set pricing, manage users, and download performance reports.
“At Blink, our charging technology is future-ready,” added Calnan. “With advancements like vehicle-to-grid technology on the horizon, our chargers are built to support the future of electric vehicles and charging habits.”
The company says its chargers are in stock and ready to ship now for any Everon customers looking to make the jump.
In October 2024, France’s Engie announced it would liquidate the entire EVBox group, which it said posted total losses of €800 million since Engie took over in 2017. EVBox is closing its operations in the Netherlands, Germany, and the US.
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