NHTSA’s Changing the Definition of a ‘Truck,’ Possibly Encouraging More Overseas Production

We’ve all known that the way the government classifies trucks and cars has been a bit of a moving target, so NHTSA is finally forcing trucks to actually do truck things.

📌 The Core Development

The changes—which would reclassify today’s 70/30 truck-to-car ratio into a 30/70 situation—were made as part of the government’s loosening of MPG rules.

🔍 Background & Sector Context

But the different rules for cars and trucks could mean that it will make sense to build a vehicle overseas and import it, given different rules for the domestic and imported fleets.

📊 Industry & Real-World Impact

Some questions are difficult to answer. Is a hot dog a sandwich? Do crabs think fish can fly? Is a light truck a passenger car?

🔮 Strategic Outlook & What Lies Ahead

Whatever your responses are to the first two, the government made it clear that its legal answer to that last one will soon change. The announcement came in the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule III for Model Years 2022 to 2031 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks , which was published in the Federal Register at the end of September and goes into effect on November 30. While the change was made in the context of the Trump administration’s loosening of fuel-economy regulations, it might also force automakers to move some production outside the U.S., depending on the political winds.

The latest SAFE Rule updates fuel-economy standards for model years 2022 through 2031. Under the Biden administration, the standard had been set to a U.S. fleet average of around 50.4 mpg, but the new rules lower that to 34.9 mpg. Some of this change comes from new rules about what defines a car and what makes something a truck.