California has declared it will stop doing business with automakers that support Donald Trump’s bid to roll back the state’s long-established right to set its own, tougher fuel economy standards.
“Between 2016 and 2018, California purchased US$58.6 million in vehicles from General Motors Co., $55.8 million from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, $10.6 million from Toyota Motor Corporation, and $9 million from Nissan Motor Co.,” Reuters reports. But that will end January 1.
“Car makers that have chosen to be on the wrong side of history will be on the losing end of California’s buying power,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “In court, and in the marketplace, California is standing up to those who put short-term profits ahead of our health and our future.”
Citing Newsom’s office, the Sacramento Bee says the state has a fleet of about 51,000 cars and trucks, including just over 3,000 hybrid and zero-emission vehicles as of last year.
Getting on the wrong side of the state that styles itself the world’s fifth-largest economy will have unfortunate consequences for the manufacturer of one of North America’s more popular mid-range electric vehicles, Reuters notes. “Removing vehicles like the Chevy Bolt and prohibiting GM and other manufacturers from consideration will reduce California’s choices for affordable, American-made electric vehicles and limit its ability to reach its goal of minimizing the state government’s carbon footprint, a goal that GM shares,” said GM spokesperson Jeannine Ginivan.
In October, Toyota tried to argue that its decision to support the Trump administration rollback wasn’t political, Bloomberg writes. “You can try to disguise the decision you made—but it won’t change the facts,” Newsom tweeted in response. “You chose to go the way of Donald Trump and the oil industry over clean air and our kids’ future. There is no denying that.”
