Larisa Manescu, larisa.manescu@sierraclub.org
A lawsuit by major truck manufacturers Daimler Truck, Volvo, Paccar and Traton against the Clean Truck Partnership which they signed two years ago has been slammed as a “red flag” for the trucking industry. The agreement with the California Air Resources Board aims to secure the future of the trucking industry by increasing the number of clean, high-tech trucks and helping businesses avoid high diesel prices.
The lawsuit paints wealthy truck manufacturers as victims, stating “the OEMs are in an impossible position” and “plaintiffs are caught in the crossfire” between California’s rules and federal moves against them. But major truck makers like Daimler and Volvo have been lobbying through industry associations to bring down California’s laws and have been undermining them in the states which have adopted them.
Together the four manufacturers taking the legal case control the vast majority of the truck sales market - with Daimler controlling around 40% and Volvo controlling around 15%. Both have made commitments for all new truck sales to be carbon free but Daimler sells less than 1% electric trucks and Volvo around 1.7%. The move against regulatory certainty comes at a bizarre time given Daimler’s disastrous Q2 earnings results - showing a 20% fall in sales and over 50% drop in orders.
Not all manufacturers are against regulations on emissions standards and electric trucks. Cummins in response to proposals for EPA rollbacks said they were looking “forward to working with the EPA on providing regulatory certainty” to their customers.
On the other hand, some manufacturers who’ve signaled the need for regulatory certainty are now part of this lawsuit to get out of the CTP. Traton CEO Christian Levin (parent company of International, who is a plaintiff in the lawsuit) said the proposed EPA rollbacks on emissions regulations are causing “a lot of insecurity and actually frustration” for manufacturers, their dealers, and their customers, increasing market uncertainty and jeopardizing pre-buys.
Last week, 18 business groups, clean freight advocates and public health organizations wrote to truck manufacturers, including the four taking today’s lawsuit, warning that walking away from the Clean Truck Partnership (CTP) would hurt the trucking industry. The groups included Public Citizen, Oregon Business for Climate, Sierra Club, and Natural Resources Defense Council.
Jakob Evans, Sierra Club California Senior Policy Strategist:
“This move against the Clean Truck Partnership is a disappointing abandonment of a commitment that secured regulatory stability in bringing cleaner trucks to California and many other states. This action jeopardizes a commitment that would bring clean air to the communities that need it most. It is disappointing to see major truck manufacturers attempting to back away from their commitments in response to a hostile federal government. Now is the moment for private-sector leadership, not maneuvers that undermine our climate goals and slow states’ progress towards clean air.”
Craig Segall, former Deputy Executive Officer and Assistant Chief Counsel of the California Air Resources Board:
“Do these companies have any idea how to sell their own products? Imagine being a truck company, working for years towards an agreement with the world's fourth largest economy that helps you sell electric trucks and finance infrastructure despite federal uncertainty... and then burning your regulators and destroying shareholder value by blowing up that agreement. Red flags abound."
Guillermo Ortiz, Senior Clean Vehicles Advocate, Natural Resources Defense Council:
“Daimler and Volvo’s lawsuit is a cynical reversal of course. These companies helped negotiate the Clean Truck Partnership to secure regulatory certainty. Now they’re trying to dismantle the very deal they shaped—injecting instability into a market they claim to lead. This is bad faith, plain and simple, and it raises questions about whether these manufacturers are serious about their ability to deliver clean trucks to the global stage."
Adam Zuckerman, senior clean vehicles campaigner with Public Citizen’s Climate Program:
“This lawsuit does not pass the sniff test. The Clean Truck Partnership was designed exactly for a moment like this. In order to create market certainty, truck makers agreed to abide by the CTP regardless of federal action. These companies are now trying to wiggle out of the commitments they made. If they are allowed to abandon their commitment to California, it will be our communities, the rule of law, and the hundreds of businesses that have invested in electric trucks that will suffer,”
Justin Balik, VP for States, Evergreen Action:
"The Clean Truck Partnership has been a key tool to secure investments in clean transportation, ensuring we can continue to make progress cleaning our air and competing for the technologies of the future. At a time when our industry leaders could choose to be visionaries and put forward a roadmap for progress, this cynical move simultaneously threatens public health and economic competitiveness. Throwing sand in the gears to prevent progress is not a strategy for anything, including the prosperity of industry."
Juan Roberto Madrid, Sustainable Communities Program Advocate, GreenLatinos:
"The Clean Truck Partnership has been instrumental in advancing clean truck investments that can help in addressing the reduction of NOx and GHG emissions. This misanthropic move by Daimler and Volvo stand to penalize communities by reneging on their commitment. To be sure with this move all communities will sure but those Disproportionately Impacted Communities made up of Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities will continue to bear the cost of higher rates of respiratory illnesses such as asthma, cancer, heart conditions and ultimately death as a result the increase in exposure to PM2.5 diesel emissions."
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.