Ford Motor Co. says it won’t be shifting gears away from an agreement it struck with California last year to meet fuel efficiency and emissions targets stricter than what the Trump administration is putting forward.
“We remain committed to meeting emission reductions consistent with the California framework and continue to believe that this path is what’s best for our customers, the environment, and the short- and long-term health of the auto industry,” said Bob Holycross, Ford’s vice president of sustainability, environment, and safety engineering, in a statement Tuesday.
His comment comes as the Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a final rule sharply weakening fuel economy standards for passenger cars through 2025. The new rule, released Tuesday, would require automakers to improve their fuel efficiency 1.5% each year, far lower than the nearly 5% annual increase the Obama-era standards called for.
The Trump administration did back off, though, from its plans to completely freeze the targets at 2020 levels, a move that most automakers publicly balked at and worked behind the scenes to steer the White House away from at least slightly.
Nonetheless, Ford is the first of the four automakers who struck a deal with California last summer to say it will maintain that agreement, under which manufacturers would meet stronger targets than the Trump rule.
Under that deal, which Volkswagen, Honda, and BMW also signed onto, automakers would reach an average fuel efficiency of about 50 miles per gallon in 2026. By contrast, the Trump administration’s final rule would require an overall average fuel efficiency of about 40 miles per gallon in 2026.
Honda and Volkswagen both indicated they would continue to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles. Honda, in a statement, touted that it is the “most fuel-efficient full-line automaker in America with the lowest fleet-average CO2 emissions,” according to recent EPA data.
Volkswagen, in a statement, said it supports the Paris Agreement and noted its goal to be carbon neutral by 2050.
“These goals are behind our intention to meet ambitious year-over-year reductions on the way to net CO2-neutrality that are included in the SAFE II rule,” the statement said.
Both companies declined, though, to answer follow-up questions from the Washington Examiner about whether they would stick with the California deal. Volkswagen also didn’t clarify whether it feels the Trump administration’s 1.5% annual improvement is consistent with a path to carbon neutral by midcentury. BMW did not respond to a request for comment.
On Tuesday, Mary Nichols, California’s top air official, told reporters she expects Volvo to join the California deal soon.
“Volvo has notified us that they intend to deliver,” Nichols said, according to the Hill. “We’re in the final stages of writing that agreement.”
