13 automakers take Trump’s side in fight over emissions

WASHINGTON — General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota and 10 smaller automakers are siding with the Trump administration in a lawsuit over whether California has the right to set its own greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy standards.

The companies said this week that they will intervene in a lawsuit filed by the Environmental Defense Fund against the administration, which is planning to roll back national pollution and gas mileage standards enacted while Barack Obama was president.

The group calls itself the “Coalition for Sustainable Automotive Regulation” and includes AstonMartin, Ferrari, Hyundai, Isuzu, Kia, McLaren, Maserati, Nissan, Subaru and Suzuki.

“With our industry facing the possibility of multiple, overlapping and inconsistent standards that drive up costs and penalize consumers, we had an obligation to intervene,” said John Bozzella, CEO of Global Automakers and spokesman for the coalition.

The move puts the automakers at odds with four other companies — BMW, Ford, Volkswagen and Honda — which have decided to back California and endorse stricter emissions and fuel economy standards than President Donald Trump has proposed.

Although the coalition opposes California’s right to set standards, it still wants Trump and the state to compromise on one national regulation. Trump has proposed freezing the Obama-era standards at 2021 levels.

GM, Fiat Chrysler and Toyota make more money off larger, less-efficient vehicles than most of their competitors, said Alan Baum, a Detroit-area consultant who does work for the auto industry and environmental groups.