In the past, most of the industry had taken
the stance that it wanted one standard, and
it preferred that California and the Trump
administration work out differences to develop
it. Negotiations haven’t gone anywhere, and in
September, President Donald Trump announced
his administration would seek to revoke
California’s congressionally granted authority to
set standards that are stricter than those issued
by federal regulators.
The automakers decided to intervene in the
lawsuit over the issue of California’s right to
set standards. By intervening, the automakers
changed their stance to siding with the
Trump administration against the state. The
automakers’ group, called the “Coalition for
Sustainable Automotive Regulation,” also
includes Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Isuzu, Maserati,
McLaren, Aston-Martin and Ferrari.
“The certainty of one national program, with
reasonable, achievable standards, is the surest
way to reduce emissions in the timeliest
manner,” said John Bozzella, CEO of Global
Automakers and spokesman for the coalition.
“With our industry facing the possibility
of multiple, overlapping and inconsistent
standards that drive up costs and penalize
consumers, we had an obligation to intervene.”
The group made the decision to intervene on
how the standards should be applied, Bozzella
said. That was even though the group wanted
more environmentally friendly standards than
the only proposal released so far by the Trump
administration. “There’s a middle ground
that supports year over year increases in fuel
economy,” and promotes electric cars and
innovation, he said.