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Automakers drop support for Trump effort against California emissions

WASHINGTON — Toyota, Fiat Chrysler (now known as Stellantis following its merger with Peugeot) and other major automakers said on Tuesday they were joining General Motors in abandoning support for former President Donald Trump's effort to bar California from setting its own zero emission vehicle rules. The automakers, which also included Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi, Mazda and Subaru, said in a joint statement they were withdrawing from an ongoing legal challenge to California's emission-setting powers, "in a gesture of good faith and to find a constructive path forward" with President Joe Biden. The automakers, along with the National Automobile Dealers Association, said they were aligned "with the Biden administrationÂ’s goals to achieve year-over-year improvements in fuel economy standards." Nissan in December withdrew from the challenge after GM's decision in November shocked the industry and won praise from Biden. On Monday, the Justice Department asked the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia to put the California emissions litigation on hold to "ensure due respect for the prerogative of the executive branch to reconsider the policy decisions of a prior administration." Biden has directed agencies to quickly reconsider TrumpÂ’s 2019 decision to revoke CaliforniaÂ’s authority to set its own auto tailpipe emissions standards and require rising numbers of zero-emission vehicles, as well as Trump's national fuel economy rollback. Asked to respond to the automakers' action, White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy said in a statement that "after four years of putting us in reverse, it is time to restart and build a sustainable future, grow domestic manufacturing, and deliver clean cars for America." California Governor Gavin Newsom praised the automakers on Twitter for "dropping your climate-denying, air-polluting, Trump-era lawsuit against CA" and urged them to join the voluntary framework. TALKS WITH BIDEN Separately, an industry trade group on Tuesday proposed to start talks with Biden on revised fuel economy standards that would be higher than Trump-era standards but lower than ones set during the prior Democratic administration. The Trump administration in March finalized a rollback of U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards to require 1.5% annual increases in efficiency through 2026, well below the 5% yearly boosts under the Obama administration rules it discarded.

Renault-Nissan has sold more EVs than its next two competitors combined

Nissan may not be doing so hot with sales of its Leaf electric vehicle in the US this year, but the Japanese automaker and its France-based partner Renault still remain the gold standard of electric-vehicle sellers. Thanks to numbers crunched by the good people over at EV Sales, we learn that the Renault-Nissan Alliance has moved more than 265,000 electric vehicles around the world. That accounts for more than a quarter of all the EVs sold worldwide and is more than Mitsubishi's 11 percent share and General Motors' 10 percent share combined. Nissan and Renault surpassed the quarter-million electric-vehicle mark in June. There are shifts afoot, though. Renault-Nissan's global EV market share is only 18 percent this year, and the Alliance is losing share to companies like Volkswagen, BYD, and, to a lesser extent, BMW. That shift can be seen in this year's US sales numbers, where the Nissan Leaf has pretty much plunged down. In fact, with VW and BMW broadening their inventory of plug-in models, Germany can claim the third-place spot in the list of countries with the most "electric" automakers, after China and Japan. The US is trailing, even if many people associate electric cars with California's Tesla. On that note, both Ford and General Motors have lost electric-vehicle market share this year, while Mitsubishi has essentially tread water. GM's numbers (and Nissan's, for that matter) need some context because Americans have been holding off on purchasing a first-gen Chevrolet Volt extended-range plug-in while the automaker readies a new and improved version. All told, Japanese companies have produced the most plug-in vehicles, accounting for 39 percent of the world's market so far, while the US is responsible for about one in four electric vehicles ever made. Sales '15 % Total Sales % Renault-Nissan 44,003 18 265,205 27 VW (VAG) 28,480 12 42,743 4 BYD 25,592 11 51,338 5 Tesla 24,867 10 83,587 9 Mitsubishi 24.117 10 108,883 11 BMW 15,469 6 31,822 3 Ford 11,548 5 65,696 7 GM 11,617 4 100,818 10 Featured Gallery 2015 Nissan Leaf View 12 Photos News Source: EV Sales Green Nissan Renault Electric ev sales renault-nissan

Porsche wins the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans

The question going into this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans was whether or not the Porsche 919 Hybrid would be able to combine its qualifying pace with race reliability. After battling neck-and-neck with Audi's R18 for most of the race, the answer is a resounding yes. Not only did Porsche drivers climb the first two spots on the podium, they did so without any major mishaps on track. This win is the first overall trophy for Porsche since 1998. Audi previously won the last five races, and 13 of the last 15. Corvette also returned to the winner's circle, with the No. 64 C7.R taking winning the GTE Pro division. The victory is the first class win for Corvette since 2011. KCMG won the LMP2 class in ninth overall. With 45 minutes to go the No. 98 Aston Martin crashed out of first place in GTE Amateur, giving the class win to SMP Racing's Ferrari and second place to the Patrick Dempsey Racing Porsche 911 RSR. For the full list of official results, click here. The GTE Pro class proved to be just as exciting as the P1 class, with a four-way battle for first after four hours into the race. For most of the race, the battle at the top went back and forth between the two German manufacturers. An tire puncture in the No. 7 Audi gave up the lead to Porsche, and moments later a crash forced the No. 8 into the garage. But a three-minute replacement of the front and rear bodywork kept the Audi in contention. As the race wore into the night, Porsche maintained a slightly faster pace than Audi. Nick Tandy took the lead on Lap 253 early Sunday morning, and car No. 19 never gave up the top position. The win is the first for all three drivers of the No. 19 – Nico Hulkenberg, Earl Bamber, and Nick Tandy. A lap behind in second was the No. 17 Porsche. The Audis fought reliability problems late in the race but still finished third with the No. 7 R18. The GTE Pro class proved to be just as exciting as the P1 class, with a four-way battle for first after four hours into the race. As the Aston Martin cars dropped away, the lone Corvette Racing entry took over, followed by a charging AF Corse team Ferrari 458 Italia. The Corvette and Ferrari continued to trade places in the final hours until gearbox trouble forced the No. 51 Ferrari out of contention. It was eventually passed by the other AF Corse car, No. 71. Nissan experienced all the pain of a first-year effort with its front-wheel-drive GT-R LM Nismo.