Major automakers call for EPA to ease tailpipe emissions rules

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A group representing nearly all major automakers asked the Trump administration Tuesday to roll back aggressive vehicle emissions limits that seek to force the industry to build a rising number of electric vehicles.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents General Motors, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen, Hyundai and other major automakers, said in a filing with the Environmental Protection Agency that legislation signed by President Donald Trump in June will increase the effective price of EVs and could lead to a near-term decline in EV market share.

They argue rules finalized last year under President Joe Biden are no longer feasible.

"The 2027 and later standards are simply not achievable in light of significant market, charging infrastructure, supply chain, affordability, and other challenges as well as recent policy changes enacted," the group said.

The 2024 Biden rules aim to cut passenger vehicle fleetwide tailpipe emissions by nearly 50% by 2032 compared with 2027 projected levels. The EPA forecast between 35% and 56% of new vehicles sold between 2030 and 2032 would need to be electric.

On Sept. 30, the $7,500 EV tax credit expires and automakers warn that "a significant portion" of automakers may lose a battery production tax credit for EVs typically worth $3,000 per year next year under the law.

"This harms not only the automotive manufacturers that have spent hundreds of millions of dollars investing in electric vehicle technology, but also the entire supply chain that has supported these initiatives," the group said.

In July, the EPA proposed rescinding the long-standing finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, removing the legal foundation for all U.S. greenhouse gas regulations, a move that would end current limits on greenhouse gas pollution from vehicle tailpipes.

Democrats in Congress and environmental groups have called on the EPA to drop its plan and retain the rules.

Automakers argue the EPA should still rewrite the Biden rules, saying they "still need to be revised to feasible levels to provide certainty for the industry." The group said "such a contingency plan will be critical if motor vehicle GHG standards are retained or reinstated in some way."

(Reporting by David Shepardson, Editing by Franklin Paul and Nick Zieminski)