VOLKSWAGEN’S STATEMENT OPPOSING THE NEW FUEL-EFFICIENCY STANDARDS
This article is from our archives and has not been updated and integrated with our "new" site yet... Even so, it's still awesome - so keep reading!
Published on Sat, Jul 30, 2011
By: The LACar Editorial Staff
13 automakers are supporting (or at least are making the appearance of supporting) the President’s latest fuel efficiency plans which include a Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. Volkswagen, makers of the 43 MPG 2012 Passat TDI, is not hiding its displeasure with the new standards. In a statement issued by Executive Communications VP Tony Cervone explains why... The Volkswagen Group is a global leader in fuel efficiency and associated technologies, and we are committed to the ongoing negotiations with the White House on reaching maximum achievable fuel economy/GHG reduction standards. Volkswagen does not endorse the proposal under discussion. It places an unfairly high burden on passenger cars, while allowing special compliance flexibility for heavier light trucks. Passenger cars would be required to achieve 5 percent annual improvements, and light trucks 3.5 percent annual improvements. The largest trucks carry almost no burden for the 2017-2020 time frame, and are granted numerous ways to mathematically meet targets in the outlying years without significant real-world gains. The proposal encourages manufacturers and customers to shift toward larger, less efficient vehicles, defeating the goal of reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Volkswagen Group clean diesel products are among the most fuel efficient vehicles on the road today. Our new mid-size Passat TDI, built here in the US in Chattanooga, TN, achieves 43 mpg highway and can travel almost 800 miles on a single tank of fuel. If one-third of the vehicles on the road today were clean diesel, the US would save 1.4 million barrels of oil a day. Yet there is no consideration in the current proposal for the positive impact clean diesels can have on fuel consumption here in the US. We look forward to continuing our discussions with the White House to achieve the "one nation standard” that is fair and equitable. Tony Cervone Executive Vice President, Communications Volkswagen Group of America
