WASHINGTON: A trade group representing General Motors, Toyota Motor, Volkswagen and nearly all other major automakers back two key portions of new US rules to dramatically cut vehicle emissions through 2032.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation said it was filing in support of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in including electric vehicles in fleetwide averaging of emissions and excluding upstream emissions from compliance calculations, but it did not weigh in on the entire rule or the legality of the standards.

Last month, 25 Republican-led states sued the EPA, arguing the new regulations that aim to cut passenger vehicle fleetwide tailpipe emissions by nearly 50% by 2032 are unlawful and unworkable.

The auto alliance, which also includes Ford Motor Stellantis and Hyundai Motor, said the two key provisions it is backing “are essential if vehicle manufacturers are to have any possibility of demonstrating compliance with the greenhouse gases (GHG) reduction targets.”

The group said the upstream GHG compliance requirement “would jeopardise manufacturers’ efforts to comply with the EPA’s increasingly stringent GHG reduction targets”.

Republican state officials argue the administration wants to transform the American passenger vehicle market through strict rules and force automakers to shift production to EVs.

A group of 22 states led by California and five cities have backed the EPA’s tailpipe emissions, and said that they could be harmed if the EPA did not require future reductions in harmful vehicle emissions.

The regulations are among the most significant environmental rules implemented under President Joe Biden, who has made tackling climate change a pillar of his presidency.

The EPA has forecast that between 35% and 56% of new vehicles sold between 2030 and 2032 will be electric.

The EPA said the final rules announced in March will cut emissions by 49% by 2032 over 2026 levels, compared with 56% under its previous plan.

EPA chief Michael Regan said the rule imposed no mandate on manufacturers to adopt electric vehicles.

Automakers filed in support of similar provisions in the EPA’s 2023 to 2026 rules that have been challenged by Republican states.

 - Reuters