Bozzella outlines position on CAFE requirements

Posted on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 10:57 AM EST.

Dear employees,

President Obama announced yesterday that his administration will review California’s request for a federal waiver that would allow it to set state fuel economy/carbon dioxide (CO2) standards. This review will include consideration of a comprehensive fuel economy standards approach that would avoid a confusing patchwork of standards. A patchwork of state-by-state fuel economy standards could limit the types of vehicles available to dealers and customers in certain states making the recovery of the domestic automobile business even more difficult. Chrysler will work with the Obama administration and other manufacturers to improve fuel economy based on a comprehensive nationwide policy.

Chrysler is committed to meeting CAFE requirements to increase fuel economy. Our plans for increasing fuel efficiency are clearly laid out in our viability plan. For example, 73 percent of our 2009 product lineup offers improved fuel economy compared with last year’s models. We’ll continue to improve overall fuel economy with new small car entries and our all-new Phoenix V-6 engine.

Through our internal ENVI organization, we’re focused on electric as our primary clean-vehicle technology. Our product plan includes the introduction of a full-function electric-drive model in 2010 and three additional models by 2013.

Please see the statement below from the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers regarding President Obama’s announcement.

John Bozzella
Vice President—External Affairs and Public Policy

STATEMENT FROM THE ALLIANCE OF AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURERS January 26, 2009

On behalf of the 11 members of the Alliance, Dave McCurdy, President and CEO, issued this statement today in response to President Obama’s announcement that his administration will review California’s request for a federal waiver to set state fuel economy/CO2 standards and determine the best way forward:

“The Alliance supports a nationwide program that bridges state and federal concerns and moves all stakeholders forward, and we are ready to work with the Administration on developing a national approach.”

Since California sought federal permission to set its own fuel economy/CO2 standards, there have been many developments. The U.S. Supreme Court directed the EPA to reconsider greenhouse gas regulations for autos, Congress passed stringent new fuel economy standards requiring CO2 reductions of at least 30 percent, automakers are offering more than 25 hybrid models for sale in 2009, President Obama and a Democratic Senate and House are considering a comprehensive, economy-wide approach to CO2 reductions, and the credit crunch is producing the toughest marketplace since World War II.

Today, in the United States, there are three voices on fuel economy/CO2—NHTSA, EPA and California—and each has different standards, different structures and different timelines. Automakers seek a federal-state solution that provides us with compliance clarity and one national standard.

The Alliance also urges the Obama administration to issue fuel economy standards for the 2011 model year because automakers are working on their product plans now and need the certainty of final standards.

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