Auto group backs Trump in effort to weaken fuel efficiency rules
May 22, 2020 6:54 PM ETGeneral Motors Company (GM), STLA, TM, F, VWAGYF, GM, TM, VWAGY, STLABy: Carl Surran, SA News Editor121 Comments
- An automaker trade group representing General Motors (NYSE:GM), Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU), Toyota (NYSE:TM) and others has intervened in litigation on behalf of the Trump administration, backing the decision to weaken Obama-era fuel efficiency standards.
- The Trump administration issued final rules in March requiring 1.5% annual increases in efficiency through 2026 - far weaker than the 5% raises in the discarded Obama-era rules - but abandoned its earlier proposal to freeze requirements at 2020 levels through 2026, a stance the Alliance for Automotive Innovation says properly balances improvement in fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions performance.
- The group opposes a legal challenge from the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which wants a federal appeals court to order the administration to reconsider its plan, saying it should have further reduced or frozen the requirements.
- Five automakers including Ford (NYSE:F) and Volkswagen (OTCPK:VWAGY) that announced separate agreements with California on fuel economy standards in 2019 are not participating in the legal intervention.