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The Trump administration says its proposal to roll back vehicle fuel economy standards, announced officially in the Oval Office on Wednesday, is an attempt to shave dollars off the ballooning cost of new cars in the US.

But the intended price drops likely won’t show up on dealership lots and showroom floors for months if not years, given the length of automakers’ product planning schedule. It would also likely force Americans to pay more, long-term, at another place they tend to visit more frequently: the pump.

The proposal from the US Department of Transportation would require automakers to reach a fleet-wide average of 34.5 miles per gallon by model year 2031, down from the 50.4-miles-per-gallon benchmark set by the Biden administration. (The Biden-era rules called for a 49-miles-per-gallon average in 2026.) The department estimates the change could save US auto buyers around $1,000 per car, adding up to $109 billion over the next five years. New vehicles now cost more than $49,000 on average, according to Edmunds. The government will accept public comments on the proposal through mid-January. It could be finalized sometime next year.

The rollback is part of a larger federal about-face on not only auto policy, but the government’s attitude on climate change. The Biden administration took a carrot-and-stick approach to vehicles and their effect on the environment. Light-duty cars and trucks alone are responsible for some 15 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. The previous administration tried to boost electric vehicle adoption by using tax subsidies for consumers and manufacturers interested in building fuel-efficient vehicles and technologies, including batteries. It also introduced penalties for those unable or unwilling to meet stricter environmental standards. Automakers should be able to hit next decade’s goals by selling more electric vehicles, the government then reasoned.

But as consumers failed to take to EVs quite as quickly as once hoped, automakers complained the rules were too onerous. “We’ve been clear and consistent: The current [fuel economy] rules finalized under the previous administration are extremely challenging for automakers to achieve given the current marketplace for EVs,” wrote John Bozzella, the president and CEO of top auto trade organization the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, in a media statement on Wednesday.

The new proposal, though intended to make new cars more affordable, won’t be a quick fix for consumers looking for price relief, analysts and environmental advocates say. “The regulatory landscape remains stop-and-start,” said Jessica Caldwell, the head of insights at Edmunds, in a media statement. The last Trump administration rolled back fuel economy standards, too. What might the next president do? Meanwhile, the administration continues to waffle on auto tariffs, which have forced US and global automakers to think about not only where their vehicles are manufactured but also where parts and base materials are made, too. That complexity adds expenses to automaking.

Also pushing up costs for automakers: the challenge of developing new technology like automated vehicle features and figuring out how to keep selling gas-powered vehicles to Americans while drivers in other countries take the leap to EVs. “Easing these requirements helps at the margins,” says Caldwell, “but it is unlikely to dramatically alter the broader commitments [automakers] have already made.”

The move, if finalized, could be better news for gas companies. “Weakening fuel economy standards won’t do much to make cars more affordable but is certain to make Americans buy a lot more gasoline,” says Albert Gore, the executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association, a group that represents companies up and down the electric vehicle supply chain.

Vodafone Group (LSE:VOD) has quietly outperformed the wider market this year, with the share price up about 38% year to date and roughly 40% over the past year.

See our latest analysis for Vodafone Group.

That steady climb, including a roughly 10% 1 month share price return and a 39% 1 year total shareholder return, suggests momentum is building as investors warm to Vodafone Group’s operational reset and earnings recovery potential.

If Vodafone’s rebound has caught your eye, this could be a good moment to broaden your radar and discover fast growing stocks with high insider ownership.

But after such a sharp rerating, is Vodafone Group still trading at a meaningful discount to its long term value, or has the market already moved ahead and priced in the next leg of its recovery?

With the narrative fair value sitting at £0.90 versus a last close of £0.95, the current price leans ahead of those long term assumptions.

The analysts have a consensus price target of £0.858 for Vodafone Group based on their expectations of its future earnings growth, profit margins and other risk factors. However, there is a degree of disagreement amongst analysts, with the most bullish reporting a price target of £1.36, and the most bearish reporting a price target of just £0.6.

Read the complete narrative.

Curious what kind of revenue climb, margin rebuild, and future earnings multiple are needed to back that view? The narrative hinges on bolder assumptions than you might expect.

Result: Fair Value of $0.90 (OVERVALUED)

Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what’s behind the forecasts.

However, Vodafone’s weak German performance and complex restructuring efforts could derail revenue growth and margin rebuild expectations if execution stumbles.

Find out about the key risks to this Vodafone Group narrative.

While the narrative fair value suggests Vodafone Group looks slightly overvalued, its 0.7x price to sales ratio looks far cheaper than both peers at 2.0x and its own 1.5x fair ratio. This hints the market may still be underestimating the turnaround.

See what the numbers say about this price — find out in our valuation breakdown.

If this perspective does not quite align with your own, or you would rather dig into the numbers yourself, you can craft a personalised view in under three minutes, starting with Do it your way.

A great starting point for your Vodafone Group research is our analysis highlighting 3 key rewards and 2 important warning signs that could impact your investment decision.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Companies discussed in this article include VOD.L.

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