Nissan Motor on Friday joined General Motors in departing from a group of automakers that had backed U.S. President Donald Trump in his bid to prevent California from imposing its own auto emissions rules.
Last month, General Motors reversed course in the continued court battle and abandoned the outgoing US president, winning praise from Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, who is set to take president’s office on January 20.
“We are confident that productive conversations among the auto industry, the Biden administration, and California can provide a common-sense set of national standards that increases efficiency and meets the needs of all American drivers,” Nissan said in a statement.
General Motors had joined Nissan, Toyota Motor, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), and other automakers in October 2019 when it supported Trump effort’s to obstruct California from setting its own fuel-efficiency rules, or zero-emission requirements, for vehicles – independent from federal requirements.
Others still supporting the Trump administration include Mazda Motor, Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, Mitsubishi Motors, Subaru, and the National Automobile Dealers Association.
The industry still remained split on how to move forward after it held a meeting Tuesday.
Biden has made popularizing electric vehicles a leading priority and vowed to spend billions of dollars to add 550,000 charging stations for such automobiles. He also supports new tax credits for purchases of electric vehicles and retrofitting plants for their production.
Ford Motor, Honda Motor, Volkswagen, and BMW in July 2019 agreed to a voluntary agreement with California on decreasing vehicle emissions that is less stringent than rules previously adopted under President Barack Obama but higher than the Trump administration’s rollback.
Ford has prompted other automakers to support the California framework as a way to move forward.
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We should always strive to go for cleaner air. Car emissions should be cleaner than before.