Four major automakers on Thursday announced they had reached a deal with California to produce more fuel-efficient vehicles for the US market, an end run around US President Donald Trump’s administration, which is seeking to freeze mileage standards.
California negotiated the agreement with Ford Motor Co, Honda Motor Co, Volkswagen AG and BMW AG in secret, and said it provided a 50-state solution that would avoid a patchwork of regulations from arising across the country.
“California, a coalition of states, and these automakers are leading the way on smart policies that make the air cleaner and safer for us all,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “I now call on the rest of the auto industry to join us, and for the Trump administration to adopt this pragmatic compromise instead of pursuing its regressive rule change,” Newsom said. “It’s the right thing for our economy, our people and our planet.”
Photo: Getty Images/AFP
Last year, Trump’s administration proposed a rule to axe tougher mileage and greenhouse gas emissions requirements for light-duty vehicles enacted by former US president Barack Obama.
Yet California, which exercises considerable clout in the auto industry as the country’s wealthiest state, announced its intention to set its own regulations.
“These terms will provide regulatory stability, preserve vehicle affordability for customers, reduce compliance costs and result in increased environmental benefits,” the manufacturers said in a statement.
The agreement envisages reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 3.7 percent each year from 2022 through 2026.
Under the framework, by 2026, new models would meet a standard of 4.7 liters per 100km just one year later than the target set under the Obama administration, Newsom’s office said.
It added that the framework also supports California’s long-term goals of transitioning to electric vehicles.
“This is an important breakthrough that will ensure the United States continues to make progress in addressing what is now our largest source of global warming pollution,” said Dan Lashof, US director of the World Resources Institute. “It demonstrates beyond any doubt the recklessness of the Trump administration’s efforts to push the nation backwards on climate, regardless of how it harms families or businesses.”
California Air Resources Board chairwoman Mary Nichols said in a statement that the liberal state would move ahead on its own in pushing for more fuel-efficient vehicles if the White House fails to support the measure.
“This agreement represents a feasible and acceptable path to accomplishing the goals of California and the automobile industry,” she said.
However, the US Environmental Protection Agency, which has spearheaded efforts to undo Obama-era measures on vehicle emissions, scoffed at the deal.
“This voluntary framework is a PR stunt that does nothing to further the one national standard that will provide certainty and relief for American consumers,” agency spokesman Michael Abboud said in a statement.
‘DECENT RESULTS’: The company said it is confident thanks to an improving world economy and uptakes in new wireless and AI technologies, despite US uncertainty Pegatron Corp (和碩) yesterday said it plans to build a new server manufacturing factory in the US this year to address US President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy. That would be the second server production base for Pegatron in addition to the existing facilities in Taoyuan, the iPhone assembler said. Servers are one of the new businesses Pegatron has explored in recent years to develop a more balanced product lineup. “We aim to provide our services from a location in the vicinity of our customers,” Pegatron president and chief executive officer Gary Cheng (鄭光治) told an online earnings conference yesterday. “We
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
LEAK SOURCE? There would be concern over the possibility of tech leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday stayed mum after a report said that the chipmaker has pitched chip designers Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Broadcom Inc about taking a stake in a joint venture to operate Intel Corp’s factories. Industry sources told the Central News Agency (CNA) that the possibility of TSMC proposing to operate Intel’s wafer fabs is low, as the Taiwanese chipmaker has always focused on its core business. There is also concern over possible technology leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺)
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
RSS