Climate Changed
White House Shrugs at California's Compromise With Automakers
- Ford, Honda, VW and BMW agree to voluntary mileage framework
- EPA calls agreement a ‘PR stunt’ and vows to pursue new rule
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Four major automakers reached a compromise with California’s clean-air regulator to boost fuel efficiency, a move the Trump administration dismissed as a “PR stunt” that wouldn’t affect its plans to ease mileage requirements enacted during the Obama administration.
The joint agreement with Honda Motor Co., Ford Motor Co., Volkswagen AG and BMW AG amounts to a rebuke of the Trump administration’s 2018 proposal that recommended capping mileage requirements at a 37 mile-per-gallon fleet average starting in 2020, instead of eventually rising to 47 mpg. That plan also proposed stripping California of its authority to regulate carbon emissions from vehicle tailpipes.