A court decision on Friday means Daimler, Volvo, PACCAR and International Motors temporarily do not need to comply with the Clean Truck Partnership they signed with California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) in 2023 while the court considers the rest of the briefing in the case.
“Business groups, clean freight advocates and public health organizations are warning of truck manufacturers’ continued failure to supply clean and affordable trucks following a court decision to temporarily allow them non-compliance with their own prior promises on truck standards in California,” Idle Giants said.
The court did, however, refuse to accept the truckmakers’ request that it preemptively block other CARB clean truck legal authorities.
“Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction will be granted in part and denied in part,” said Judge Dena Coggins.
CARB Lawsuit
Separately, CARB filed a lawsuit against the four manufacturers last week for violating the terms of the agreement, with CARB Chair Lauren Sanchez stating “CARB and several other manufacturers have upheld their end of the deal, but these four manufacturers have reneged on theirs”.
CARB also will seek to have portions of the manufacturers’ original lawsuit dismissed on Nov. 21.
“The bottom line is that this legal debate is a sideshow,” said Craig Segall, former deputy executive officer and assistant chief counsel, CARB. “The real scandal here is that the truck makers will run to court rather than just compete on price for clean trucks – even as companies globally get ready to eat their lunch. This legal win just advertises their long-term business mistakes.”
Public Citizen, Oregon Business for Climate, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and others wrote to the manufacturers last month warning of the damage to the trucking industry if the lawsuit went ahead and they failed to honor their commitments to truck electrification.
Are Diesel Truck Sales Falling?
According to an Idle Giants press release, diesel truck sales by truck manufacturers in North America are collapsing.
- Sales by Daimler, North America’s biggest truck maker, fell by 20% in Q2 and almost 40% in Q3.
- Volvo Group sales were down 14% as reported in its recent Q3 reporting
- Traton, parent company of International Motors, reported a 36% fall in North America sales in the first nine months of the year.
- North American truck sales from Paccar in Q3 fell by 34% compared to the previous year.
All sales statistics presented are via the the Idle Giants press release and not from the manufacturers.
Doubling Down on Diesel
“Despite reporting growth in sales of electric trucks, the truck manufacturers are doubling down on diesel and siding with the U.S. federal government in trying to kill the electric truck market,” Idle Giants said. “The truck manufacturers are on the offensive against standards in Europe too. Daimler, Volvo and Scania (owned by Traton) wrote to the European Commission asking it to weaken emissions rules, despite their own industry body this week reporting a surge in electric truck sales and a drop in diesel truck sales. Other parts of the trucking industry are at odds with the truck manufacturers: major retailers and fleet operators wrote to the European Commission in early October urging it to bring in binding standards ‘to further accelerate the shift to clean road freight.'”
Disappointment with the Ruling
“We are disappointed that trucking manufacturers will temporarily be able to violate their agreed upon commitments under the Clean Truck Partnership,” said Katherine García, director, Sierra Club Clean Transportation for All. “just two years ago, these companies voluntarily agreed to spur electric truck progress regardless of federal policy changes. Backpedaling on these electric truck commitments will hurt the health of communities already overburdened with diesel pollution and threaten economic progress. We will continue to sound the alarm about these trucking companies’ disastrous, short-sighted actions.”
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
