Automakers back Trump plan to roll back fuel economy rules, but seek changes

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Major automakers connected Wednesday called for changes successful the Trump administration's connection to betterment substance ​economy standards, but said they backmost the program to drastically ‌slash the ratio requirements.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen, Hyundai, ‌Ford and different automakers, backed the simplification successful stringency projected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, but asked it to not destruct recognition trading to conscionable regulatory requirements and reconsider plans to reclassify much vehicles arsenic cars.

"Given ⁠the slowing maturation of ‌EV income successful the U.S. and reduced authorities argumentation support, the antecedently issued CAFE standards are simply unachievable," the ‍group said.

NHTSA proposes to destruct recognition trading among automakers successful 2028, and volition extremity immoderate credits for fuel-saving features. It would besides reclassify galore vehicles arsenic cars alternatively ​of trucks, which impacts automakers since cars look much stringent standards ‌than trucks.

PROPOSAL TO REVISE DOWN FUEL ECONOMY STANDARDS

The automakers called for continuing credits for aerial conditioning ratio and different technologies.

NHTSA is proposing to revise down the 2022 substance system standards and past proposing to hike them betwixt 0.25% and 0.5% annually done 2031. In 2022, nether Biden, NHTSA ⁠increased substance ratio by 8% annually for ​model years 2024-2025 and 10% for 2026.

Biden's rules ​sought to prod automakers to physique a rising fig of EVs to comply, but would not person forced an contiguous ‍end to gas-powered ⁠vehicles.

NHTSA estimates the projected regularisation would trim mean up-front conveyance costs by $930, but would summation substance depletion by astir 100 cardinal gallons ⁠through 2050 - and outgo Americans up to different $185 cardinal for substance and summation c dioxide ‌emissions by astir 5%.

(Reporting by David Shepardson successful Washington; Editing ‌by Franklin Paul and David Holmes)