Trade Group Joins Car Suit

A group representing Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. joined a lawsuit meant to halt California’s plan to curb car and truck emissions of gases linked to global warming, uniting every major automaker in opposition to the program.

The Assn. of International Automakers, which lobbies on behalf of Honda, Nissan, Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp., said Thursday that it was joining a suit filed Dec. 7 by 13 automobile dealers and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which represents General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp., DaimlerChrysler and Volkswagen.

Timothy MacCarthy, chief executive of the international automakers’ group, based in Arlington, Va., said the state has overstepped its authority by trying to regulate fuel economy.

“We believe this is a fuel-economy program, and that can only be regulated at the federal level,” MacCarthy said.

California, which buys more than 10% of all new cars and trucks sold in the U.S., is the first state to pass rules that limit emissions of heat-trapping gases tied to global warming, including carbon dioxide and methane. The program, adopted last year, requires manufacturers to sell vehicles in the state that cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 22% in the 2009 model year.

Automakers contend that reducing emissions of carbon dioxide can be achieved only by burning less fuel. Under federal law, California can set pollution rules that exceed national standards, owing to poor air quality. There are no federal guidelines covering emissions of gases linked to global warming.

The legislation’s only purpose is to cut emissions of gases that contribute to global warming, said a spokesman for California’s Air Resources Board, which designed the state program.