Toyota, Fiat Chrysler Drop Support for Trump Effort to Bar California Emissions Rules

by David Shepardson (Reuters/Yahoo!Finance) Toyota Motor Corp, Fiat Chrysler and other major automakers said on Tuesday they were joining General Motors in abandoning support for former President Donald Trump's effort to bar California from setting its own zero emission vehicle rules.

The automakers, which also included Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, Mitsubishi Motors, Mazda Motor and Subaru, said in a joint statement they were withdrawing from an ongoing legal challenge to California's emission-setting powers, "in a gesture of good faith and to find a constructive path forward" with President Joe Biden.

Nissan Motor Co in December withdrew from the challenge after GM's decision in November shocked the industry and won praise from Biden.

On Monday, the Justice Department asked the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia to put the California emissions litigation on hold to "ensure due respect for the prerogative of the executive branch to reconsider the policy decisions of a prior administration."

Separately, an industry trade group on Tuesday proposed to start talks with Biden on revised fuel economy standards that would be higher than Trump-era standards but lower than ones set during the prior Democratic administration. READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico's Morning Energy: DINGELL: EV PUSH TO ONLY ACCELERATE: Dingell told ME on Tuesday that General Motors' aspiration to phase out traditional engines in its vehicles by 2035 reflects where the broader automotive sector stands. "Quite frankly, not only is it realistic but it has been coming," she said of the 2035 goal. "All of the autos have been talking about it. There have been lots of conversations with [United Auto Workers], the environmentalist community and the autos." Dingell, a former GM executive who represents a major auto producing district, said she's been "working very hard on this for months."

Welcome to 'Dodge' city: The environmental community is likely to want Biden to set future tailpipe emissions rules that are stricter than the Obama-era rules, while the Alliance for Automotive Innovation said Tuesday it wants rules "roughly midway between" the Obama and Trump versions. So, how does Dingell see that working out? "Everybody has been at a table and will continue to be at a table, and it is my hope that everybody will stay at a table and that there'll be a process set up to get this figured out," she said.

ICYMI: Automakers, including Fiat Chrysler and Toyota, that had been defending the Trump administration's revocation of California's Clean Air Act waiver dropped out of the litigation on Tuesday, Alex Guillén reports for Pros.

THE STATE OF EVs: California leads the nation in enabling use of EVs, according to a report this morning from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. The State Transportation Electrification Scorecard found that California is the only state to set deadlines for electrifying transit buses, heavy trucks and commercial vehicles, and to adopt statewide building codes for wiring most new buildings and houses for EV charging — earning 91 points out of 100 in the scorecard. The next state in line, New York, earned 63.5 points, while Washington, D.C, came in third with 59 points, Maryland next with 56 points and Massachusetts with 54.5 points. The report tabulated 20 states that earned 15 points or fewer. READ MORE

Excerpt from Politico's Morning Energy: COURT PAUSES CALIFORNIA WAIVER FIGHT: A federal court suspended litigation Monday over the Trump administration's revocation of the California Clean Air Act waiver that had allowed the state to regulate carbon dioxide from vehicles, handing the Biden administration time to reverse the action. The abeyance comes despite the request from a coalition of Republican attorneys general for the court to move forward with arguments, since the case was fully briefed, Pro's Alex Guillén reports. Meanwhile, the automakers that had been helping defend the Trump-era rule dropped out of the suit last week in the hopes of negotiating a single national standard with the Biden administration. READ MORE