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Dealers, Congress, and CAFE
DEALERS OPPOSE MULTI-STATE
FUEL ECONOMY RULES
A single, national fuel economy standard is the only fair and workable way to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions from motor vehicles.
Last December, Congress passed the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), a law that increased the CAFE standard by 40 percent, to at least 35 mpg by 2020. Because increasing fuel economy is the only way to significantly decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from motor vehicles, this new standard will decrease GHG tailpipe emissions by 30 percent by 2020.
Pursuant to EISA, NHTSA proposed a new fuel economy standard (to be finalized later this year) that is higher than California’s (31.6 mpg v. 31.3 mpg) and will prevent over 3.5 times the carbon dioxide emissions than California’s regulation (521 million metric tons v. 146 million metric tons)
Individual state efforts to regulate fuel economy by regulating GHG emissions from motor vehicles are unnecessary since the passage of EISA and will undermine the new CAFE law.
This effort, led by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is also fatally flawed in other respects:
Creates a Patchwork – CARB’s regulation will result in a patchwork of state regulatory regimes, as compliance with their regulation is based on what each automaker delivers for sale in each “California” state. What an automaker “delivers for sale” varies because consumer demand for certain vehicles differs from state to state, meaning compliance in California is no guarantee of compliance in any other state.
Exemptions – CARB’s regulation exempts until 2016 (and then regulates these now exempt automakers at a lesser standard) such major global manufacturers as Daimler, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, and Suzuki.
Vehicle Rationing – To comply with CARB’s regulation, every automaker must sell the “right” mix of vehicles – some vehicles above the standard and some vehicles below the standard. If consumers do not buy the right mix of vehicles, the only realistic way for an automaker to comply will be to ration sales of certain models, or deeply discount other models. Both options distort the market and hurt dealers.
Cross-Border Sales Loophole – Because of vehicle rationing, consumers will go to other states to purchase vehicles unavailable in their state. Except in Rhode Island, vehicles bought in one state and registered in another are unregulated under CARB’s regulation. This loophole is non-existent under CAFE.
The new CAFE law saves more fuel, prevents more GHGs from being emitted and does so in a way that is fair and coherent. Dealers must urge Congress to reject CARB’s patchwork approach to regulating fuel economy by opposing H.R. 5560 and S. 2555.
Talking Points
Support National Fuel Economy (pdf document)
House: H.R. 5560 Right to Clean Vehicles Act
Senate: S. 2555 Reducing Global Warming from Vehicles Act of 2008
Senate: S. 2806 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding Deadline and California Waiver Reconsideration Act
Where Will California Drive the Market?
Current Consumer Demand: Cars & Light Trucks
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Source: Autochoice.org |
| In an effort to give Congress a better understanding of the public’s buying patterns and demand for certain types of vehicles, NADA and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers undertook a joint research project that clearly demonstrates how light trucks have outsold cars in the United States over the past five years.
Registration data for 2007 from 50 states clearly illustrates that light trucks—pickups, minivans, and vans—were the No. 1 selling vehicle type. This research will give Congress and the public a better understanding of the need for an aggressive but reasonable fuel economy boost, as well as the need for separate car and truck fuel economy standards.
Dealers are urged to let their Senators and House members know that www.AutoChoice.org has actual car and truck registration data sorted by state and by individual congressional district.
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