A fuel industry trade group has joined the state of Nebraska in an antitrust lawsuit against heavy-duty truck manufacturers who have signed on to California's efforts to phase out ICE-powered vehicles.
In the suit filed Tuesday in Nebraska state court, the Energy Marketers of America joined the state and Renewable Fuels Nebraska in alleging the manufacturers' Clean Truck Partnership agreement with the California Air Resources Board "is nakedly anti-competitive" as it is designed to ensure no company can benefit from selling an increased number of fossil fuel-powered vehicles while the others electrify their fleets.
The agreement "represents an industrywide commitment by companies to reduce their output of ICE vehicles and eliminate consumer choice, which will drive up prices for those same vehicles in Nebraska and elsewhere to subsidize the so-called 'transition' to ZEVs," according to the lawsuit, which alleges the pact violates state antitrust regulations.
The suit says the manufacturers have agreed to electrify their fleets in order to meet California standards no matter the outcome of lawsuits challenging the state's rules.
Named as defendants in the suit are Daimler Truck North America, International Motors, Paccar Inc., Volvo Group North America and the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association. The suit says the defendants "dominate, if not comprise, the U.S. market for Class 8 ICE vehicles."
The suit asks the court to void the Clean Truck Partnership agreement nationwide and enjoin the defendants from reducing the output or raising the price of ICE trucks in Nebraska due to the CTP agreement.
In a statement, the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association said "based on what we've seen, we believe the allegations are without merit and we will be defending ourselves vigorously."
Representatives of Daimler and International Motors said Tuesday the companies do not comment on pending litigation. The state air resources board did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
The lawsuit represents a new tactic in efforts to thwart California's efforts to force the electrification of the vehicle fleet there and nationwide.
Opponents have already filed suit seeking to overturn the California regulation. But the Nebraska suit is the first to target an agreement among manufacturers over the pace of the EV transition, raising the stakes for companies as they try to navigate state and federal emissions regulations.
Provisions of the Clean Air Act allow California to set its own vehicle emissions standards which can then be adopted by other states. The state represents a significant portion of the U.S. and global economies, and opponents say the California waiver allows the state to use its size to force adoption of its standards nationwide.
CARB announced the formation of the Clean Truck Partnership in July 2023. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has said the state's rules targeting heavy-duty vehicle emissions will lead to half of all heavy-duty trucks sold in the state to be electric by 2035. The state has targeted 2045 for the phaseout of ICE heavy-duty vehicle operations.
President-elect Donald Trump has made eliminating California's ability to set its own emission standards a key provision of his plans to reverse Biden administration efforts to support a transition to electric vehicles.
This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
--Reporting by Steve Cronin, scronin@opisnet.com; Editing by Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 19, 2024 16:40 ET (21:40 GMT)
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