Automakers Blast Biden Admin For EV, Fuel Economy Rules.
(I’m NOT in the market for a new vehicle. I have a 2019 RAM 1500 5.7 L extended cab and I hope to drive it for my remaining years. If I were in the market, getting a few miles per gallon extra but paying $3K more, really wouldn’t change my opinion about EV’s … I’ll NEVER own one).
The people who make the vehicles know what they are doing. They know what is coming. Honda and Toyota both saw in 2020 that shipping vehicles and parts across the oceans, especially the Pacific, would be a big problem. Honda stopped making hatchback Civics in the UK. Look at their window stickers and see how much is made in North America now versus how much had been made in Japan previously. So, they know what will happen. They make the damned things
Automakers blast US plan to hike fuel efficiency rules.
A group representing General Motors (GM.N), Toyota Motor (7203.T), Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) and nearly all other major automakers on Monday sharply criticized the Biden administration proposal to drastically hike fuel efficiency requirements.
The Alliance for Automotive Innovation said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) proposal was unreasonable and requested significant revisions.
The industry group argued the plan would boost average vehicle prices by $3,000 by 2032 because of penalties automakers would face for not being in compliance, adding the figure “exceeds reason and will increase costs to the American consumer with absolutely no environmental or fuel savings benefits.”
NHTSA in July proposed boosting requirements by 2% per year for passenger cars and 4% per year for pickup trucks and SUVs from 2027 through 2032, resulting in a fleet-wide average fuel efficiency of 58 miles (93 km) per gallon.
Vehicles are already very pricey post-COVID, with even base models, which are limited production these days, jumping about $3K-$4k.
NHTSA said its rule “is focused on saving Americans money at the gas pump and strengthening American energy independence,” estimating combined benefits of its proposal exceed costs by more than $18 billion.
Automakers also raised alarm at the Energy Department’s proposal to significantly revise how it calculates the petroleum-equivalent fuel economy rating for EVs in NHTSA’s CAFE program, saying it would “devalue the fuel economy of electric vehicles by 72%.”
GM said on Monday it could support NHTSA’s proposal if the Energy Department rescinded its petroleum-equivalent proposal.
Volkswagen, which could face over $800 million in CAFE fines through 2032, said NHTSA’s proposal “is arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of the agency’s discretion to set standards that are not feasible.”
All for an imaginary problem. But, hey, the government is here to help. As mandated by people who do not practice what they preach.
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