Ford supports new EPA emissions regulations despite controversy

Ford has expressed its support for new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations on vehicle pollution. Trade group Alliance for Automotive Innovation also says it supports two aspects of the new rules.

In March, the EPA said the new rules would cut emissions by 49% by 2032, compared to 2026 levels. While this is less significant than the 56% reduction under the earlier plan, it is still controversial. In April, attorneys general from 25 U.S. states gathered to sue the EPA, arguing that it had overstepped its authority and that the new regulations were an attempt to change the U.S. auto industry.

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Ford took a different tone and announced public support for the new regulations, adding that it had already begun taking the necessary steps to comply with the changes.

“Complying with emissions regulations requires a lot of advance planning, which is why Ford has taken steps to transform its operations to comply with more stringent emissions standards,” the automaker said. He added that the multi-pollutant rule would prevent “the possibility of changing standards.”

The trade group Alliance of Automotive Innovation, which represents automakers including GM, Toyota, Volkswagen and Ford, added that it supports two aspects of the rule. Reuters says the trade group supports the EPA’s move to include electric vehicles in fleet-wide emissions averaging, while excluding upstream emissions from compliance calculations. He did not present a position on the entire rule.

In mid-2023, former U.S. President Donald Trump said he would “terminate” all clean vehicle mandates if elected to a second term in this year’s federal election. The latest rule announced by the EPA does not require automakers to build battery-powered vehicles.