A trade group for car manufacturers stated on Tuesday it intends to reach a deal with California and the Trump administration over automobile fuel efficiency standards.
Mitch Bainwol, CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group representing General Motors, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen and others, stated ahead of the New York International Auto Show that automakers were not looking for a rollback of present standards.
“What we desire is logical, predictable, stable policy,” he stated. Automakers hope “that over time accountable parties will come together and have a sincere discussion about what the data is.”
In March, US President Donald Trump ordered an evaluation of U.S. automobile fuel-efficiency standards from 2022-2025 put in place by the Obama administration, stating they were too difficult on the vehicle market.
However California opposed compromising the rules, threatened to pursue harder standards unilaterally and could install a legal obstacle. New York has also threatened a battle.
The White House prepares to hold negotiations with auto companies and California. A deal would eliminate uncertainty for car manufacturers, who need years of preparation to engineer future models and desire consistent rules throughout all 50 states.
The Obama administration’s rules, worked out with automakers in 2011, were aimed at doubling average fleet-wide fuel performance to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. Under the 2011 deal, the 2022-2025 model year guidelines must be settled by April 2018.
“The talk the of rollback is fallacious. What we are discussing here is the nature of the slope,” Bainwol stated. “We will get to the Obama numbers (54.5 mpg). We will get beyond the Obama numbers. The concern is when and how.”
