Ford thinks other carmakers should consider backing a vehicle emissions framework deal with California, in order to reach a consensus before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office.
According to Reuters, major car manufacturers will be discussing this issue during a virtual auto trade association meeting this week, on the heels of GM abruptly announcing that it would no longer back the Trump administration’s efforts to bar California from having its own emissions rules.
Initially, General Motors, together with Toyota and FCA, backed Trump in his fight against California on this issue, while Ford, Honda, VW and BMW stood for the other side in its bid to reduce emissions through the 2026 model year, allowing them to meet a single nationwide standard.
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These targets would be lower than the Obama-era rules, but still higher than the Trump administration’s figures.
In a letter, Ford president Kumar Galhotra stated that after Biden’s victory, the fight over Trump’s effort to stop California in its tracks on vehicle emissions “is now, at least for the next set of years, essentially moot. The more relevant issue is thus the question of standards.”
Galhotra then urged other carmakers “to actively consider embracing the California framework,” adding that the incoming administration “will not let the Trump standards stand, and either by way of litigation and/or a regulatory reboot, the new team will move in a different, more stringent direction.”
Meanwhile, a Ford spokeswoman declined to comment on the letter, however she did state that the California agreement “should be the foundation for new regulations as the Biden administration considers stronger fuel economy standards in 2021.”
