April 5, 2022—The NHTSA unveiled new emissions standards Friday, significantly increasing the necessary average gas mileage from the current 28 mpg requirement.

According to a report from The Detroit Free Press, new vehicles will have an average fuel efficiency of "at least 40 miles per gallon" by 2026. The new policy will "increase gas mileage by 8 percent per year" in model years 2024 and 2025, and it will go up by 10 percent in 2026. 

“Transportation is the second-largest cost for American families, only behind housing,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said per the report. He added the new standards will preserve “the freedom of our country to chart its future without being subject to other countries and to the decisions that are being made in the boardrooms of energy companies.”

The new policy will reverse a Trump-era rollback of emission standards, and Buttegieg said it will help stregthen the country by reducing dependency on foreign oil.