Significant automakers are siding with the Trump administration in its bid to bar California from setting its own fuel efficiency rules or zero-emission requirements for vehicles, the companies stated in a filing with a U.S. appeals court late on Monday.
The move by companies such as General Motors, Toyota Motor, Hyundai Motor, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, follows legal obstacles by California and 22 states and environmental groups in September.
Those challenges intend to undo the Trump administration’s determination, released in September, that federal law bars California from setting stiff tailpipe emission standards and zero-emission auto mandates.
In their filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, the car companies and the National Automobile Dealers Association stated they supported the administration bid to bar individual emissions regulations by states.
They asked to intervene, arguing the administration’s regulation provided “vehicle manufacturers with the certainty that states cannot interfere with federal fuel economy standards.”
The decision to side with President Donald Trump could result in a furious backlash from Democrats and environmentalists.
It poses a risk as well for automakers if a Democrat wins the White House in 2019’s election and reverses Trump’s actions, and also reinstates California’s right to set its own regulations and stricter national emissions standards adopted by President Barack Obama.
A representative for California Attorney General Xavier Becerra stated the action “doesn’t change our resolve to fight as long and hard as necessary to protect our standards.”
She also said, “The courts have upheld our authority to set standards before and we’re hopeful they will yet again.”
Other automakers, including Ford Motor, Volkswagen and Honda Motor, which announced a voluntary deal with California in July on emissions regulations, are not joining the bid to intervene on the administration’s side.
The group supporting Trump also consists of Mazda, Nissan Motor, Kia Motors and Subaru.
