Honda and Toyota Execs Concerned By EPA Regulatory Relaxation

The Environmental Protection Agency seems set to relax fuel economy standards, and high-ranking Honda and Toyota executives have reacted unexpectedly critically of the measure. Robert Bienenfield, a VP at American Honda Motors, complained that this was not what the automakers’ had asked for, and that the route the EPA was trying to take wasn’t sensible. Jim Lentz, chief executive of Toyota’s America branch, said state regulations stricter than the federal regulations could pose a “logistical nightmare.” The Obama-era target set all trucks and cars to achieve an average fuel economy of over 50 MPG, which automakers at the time argued was near impossible, due to the market’s appetite for SUVs and trucks.   A top executive at the Honda Motor Company says the expected relaxation of fuel efficiency standards by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is not the "sensible" plan automakers requested. “We didn’t ask for that. The position we outlined was sensible," said Robert Bienenfeld, an assistant vice president at American Honda Motor, when asked by The New York Times about the new standards. The EPA is expected to declare within days that the fuel efficiency regulations on cars in the U.S. are too strict, and offer revisions for standards on greenhouse gas emissions enforced by the Department of Transportation. The EPA sent a draft of the 16-page revised plan to the White House for approval this week, according to The New York Times. Click Here to Continue Reading

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