New DOT rule could mean you spend $600 more on gas each year | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

The United States is a pretty car-dependent country, and we are also a country with a lot of cars that are not the most fuel-efficient in the world, including a substantial number of pickup trucks and large SUVs that guzzle gas.

Since we do use a lot of gasoline, it’s probably not surprising that the U.S. Energy Information Administration says that gas is consistently the type of energy that we devote the largest portion of our household energy spending to.

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In fact, the Consumer Expenditure survey shows that the average annual household spending on gas came in at around $2,148 per year in recent years. This is more than the amount that we’re spending on natural gas, electricity, and fuel oil combined.

There’s no getting around the fact that you’re going to have to keep putting gas in your car if you live the typical American lifestyle and aren’t ready to abandon it for a walkable city and public transportation.

Unfortunately, for those of us who are frequent drivers, it is entirely possible that fuel costs are going to rise. In fact, a new final rule issued by the Department of Transportation recently could mean that Americans end up spending around $600 more on gas each year than original projections suggested they would.

Here’s why gas spending may be higher than anticipated.

Filling up your gas tank will be more expensive thanks to the DOT’s rule change.

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A DOT decision could mean higher gas expenses

The DOT action that is going to have an impact on your gas consumption came last Friday. On June 6, 2025, the DOT officially declared that Joe Biden had exceeded his authority as president when establishing fuel economy rules while in office.

Specifically, under the Biden Administration, the DOT had put a rule in place that was finalized in 2024 that required manufacturers to improve fuel economy by 2% per year for passenger cars made between 2027 and 2031 and by 2% annually for SUVs and other light trucks made from 2029 to 2031.

Now, the DOT claims the Biden Administration did not properly exercise its authority when setting those fuel economy rules because it set them based on the assumption that there would be increased usage of electric vehicles regardless of what the emissions standards required.

A statement accompanying the DOT’s rule publication explained that the problem with the Biden administration’s actions was that current statutory requirements prohibit the consideration of electric cars when the government establishes fuel efficiency requirements.

The DOT says that the Biden Administration ignored that limitation and assumed a high number of consumers would switch to EVs. This new declaration has opened up the door for the Trump Administration to rescind the Biden standards and put in their own looser limits.

Why the new DOT rule could mean spending $600 more a year on gas

When the Biden Administration established the stricter fuel efficiency standards, that rule was expected to save consumers more than $600 in gas costs each year, as well as help to fight climate change.

Without those new standards going into effect, though, the $600 in savings promised by Biden’s plan is not likely to materialize. Consumers will have to spend that extra money instead, since car makers are no longer going to be required to make such drastic cuts to the fuel that common vehicles use.

While spending $600 more per year on fuel costs doesn’t sound very appealing, those who support the Trump Administration’s actions believe that the order will give consumers more choice.

Many car makers had their hands severely tied in trying to meet the Biden administration’s standards, which would likely either force them to increase costs or to change the kinds of vehicles they were producing. They won’t be subject to these rules anymore and can continue making cars that consume more gasoline, which, frankly, appear to be the cars many Americans want.

“We are making vehicles more affordable and easier to manufacture in the United States. The previous administration illegally used CAFE standards as an electric vehicle mandate,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement regarding the rule change.

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Still, those hoping car makers would have been inspired to find new ways to improve fuel efficiency may be disappointed in the fact that some key incentives that could have prompted those changes are now disappearing.