Four automakers have reached a deal with California to produce more fuel-efficient cars for their U.S. fleets, The Washington Post is reporting.
The move undercuts one of the Trump administrations’ planned climate policy rollbacks, according to the newspaper.
Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and BMW of North America reached a compromise with the California Air Resources Board on fuel efficiency standards for their vehicles in the years to come, the newspaper said.
Mary Nichols, chair of the resource board, said she hopes the administration will join in on the deal, which gives automakers flexibility in meeting emissions goals without the “massive backsliding” outlined in the White House proposal.
“What we have here is a statement of principles intended to reach out to the federal government to move them off the track that they seem to be on and onto a more constructive track,” Nichols said
The automakers, in a joint statement, said the deal was reached in part by a desire to keep vehicles affordable and be good environmental stewards.
The administration is finalizing a rollback that would freeze mileage requirements for light trucks and cars at about 37 miles per gallon on average next fall, according to the Post. The industry and the Obama administration had called for raising the mileage requirements to about 51 mpg on 2025 models
The California deal allows the four automakers to raise their fleets’ average efficiency by 3.7 percent a year as opposed to 4.7 percent mandated by rules set during the Obama-era.
Thirteen states and the District of Columbia has said they will follow California’s lead, Forbes is reporting.
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