Ford vows full lineup
DEARBORN, Mich. – Ford Motor Co. will meet the tougher federal fuel economy regulations Congress wants to impose by 2020 without having to abandon any of its lower-mileage truck or sport utility vehicle lines, Chief Executive Alan Mulally promised on Monday.
“Our commitment is to improve the fuel efficiency of all the vehicles no matter what the size,” Mulally said after signing a new four-year contract with the United Auto Workers.
The auto industry’s fleet of new cars, sport utility vehicles, pickup trucks and vans will have to average 35 mpg by 2020, according to the agreement that congressional negotiators announced late Friday. That compares with the 2008 requirement of 27.5 mpg average for cars and 22.5 mpg for light trucks. It would be the first increase ordered by Congress in three decades.
Majority Democrats plan to include the requirement in broader energy legislation to be debated in the context of $90-per-barrel oil, $3-plus pump prices and growing concerns about climate change. The House plans to begin debate this week.
But Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., noted the measure still must go through both chambers as part of the larger energy bill.
“It’s up to the leadership on whether or not the bill can be called up in a few weeks,” Levin said Monday at an appearance in Detroit. “The Senate is a place where you can add amendments. In the Senate, they always have the right to raise issues. They don’t have the kind of limits we have in the House.”
Levin said other issues include how excess profits of oil companies will be used and the standards of alternative energy use by utilities.
Environmentalists have sought stricter gas mileage standards for years, saying that is the most effective way to curb greenhouse gas emissions and oil consumption.
The energy bill will help accelerate plans by automakers to bring more fuel-efficient technologies to conventional engines and alternatives such as gas-electric hybrids and vehicles running on ethanol blends. For the first time, for example, manufacturers will receive credits for building vehicles running on biodiesel fuel.
Domestic automakers and Toyota Motor Corp. vehemently opposed a Senate bill passed in June that contained the same mileage requirements and timeline. They warned the measure would limit the choice of vehicles, threaten jobs and drive up costs.
The companies backed an alternative of 32 mpg to 35 mpg by 2022. At the time, Chrysler LLC executive Tom LaSorda told employees the Senate bill would “add up to a staggering $6,700 – almost a 40 percent increase – to the cost of every Chrysler vehicle.”
Executive Chairman Bill Ford said Monday it will be a stretch to meet the 35 mpg standard, but he is confident Ford can do it.
“We have to do it, and we have the best people in the industry getting ready to do it,” he said.
Ford shares fell 22 cents to $7.29 in afternoon trading Monday. General Motors Corp. shares fell $1.17 to $28.66.