Last Friday, CEOs from ten auto manufacturers met President Trump at the White House, for a meeting to discuss changing the upcoming 2020 regulations for the industry. While many of the automakers are on-board with adjusting the 2020 regulations, some are up in arms about NAFTA and wanting to maintain most of the 2020 purposed regulations.
President Trump’s plan is to suspend the 2020 regulations and push them back to 2026. A few of the manufacturers such as Honda and Toyota whose sales in the U.S. are mostly small crossovers and passenger sedans were the automakers questioning the ideas of the administration’s plan. Certain automakers like Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and Ford Motor Company, have recently announced they would be eliminating most of their car lineup in favor for more crossovers, SUVs and trucks; embraced the administration’s plan. However, all of them agreed that there should be some adjustments to the upcoming 2020 regulations change.
FCA released the following statement on behalf of Mr. Marchionne Friday after the meeting…
“I appreciated the opportunity to talk to the President today about our shared commitment to the automotive industry. Consumer preferences and technological advancements in our business are constantly evolving. Therefore, revisiting and assessing EPA standards, as was originally intended, is the right thing to do,” said Sergio Marchionne, CEO, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
“With this process just beginning, it would be a mistake to jump to conclusions and pre-judge the outcome. Rather, I am optimistic that the President can find a means to preserve a national program that drives continuous improvement in vehicle efficiency and, at the same time, allows us to build vehicles customers want, at prices they can afford. Achieving this result will require the willingness by all parties to compromise through thoughtful and data-driven dialogue.”
The administration also discussed NAFTA and how it will benefit the automakers that produce in the U.S. The NAFTA agreement doesn’t just effect the cars which are assembled in the U.S., but the components that are made up to assemble the vehicles are also effected. Many of the automakers who assemble vehicles in the U.S. get components and other parts used for the assembly process from other countries. Those countries include the countries of Mexico and Canada, which along with the U.S. make up the NAFTA region.
The Trump administration has made it clear, that it wants more vehicles built-in the U.S. and for manufacturers to export more vehicles from it.
