Ford CEO Mark Fields Told Trump 1 Million US Jobs At Stake Because Of Fuel Economy Rules…

January 29th, 2017 by James Ayre

While commentators on earlier articles have accused me of putting words in Ford CEO Mark Fields’ mouth with regard to his stance on market demand for electric vehicles (EVs), I don’t think that there’s any doubt at this point that he isn’t pro-EVs, and isn’t too concerned with his company’s effect on the wider environment. For that matter, it seems hard to argue that he isn’t prone to stretching the truth quite a bit.

The newest evidence on this count? Fields apparently told President Donald Trump during a recent meeting that there are “about 1 million US jobs are at risk if fuel-economy rules don’t align with market reality” — this is Bloomberg‘s exact paraphrase, not that of Fields.

This was revealed during a recent speech by the CEO at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in New Orleans. During which, he also stated: “We (the 3 Auto CEOs that met with the President) think having one national standard on fuel economy is really important.” Continuing, while citing unnamed studies, Fields stated that the jobs referenced above “could be at risk if we’re not given some level of flexibility on that — aligning it to market reality. So that really resonated.”

The other two auto CEOs that were present at the meeting that Fields is referring to were GM’s Mary Barra and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s Sergio Marchionne.

Bloomberg provides more:

“Fields and his peers … didn’t ask to have fuel-economy standards eliminated during their meeting with the president at the White House this week, the CEO said Friday. The focus was on combining various sets of government regulations and ensuring they take into account consumer demand.

“Fields’s comments are the most in-depth that any of the three US auto CEOs have given about closed-door discussions with Trump at the White House on Tuesday. In responding to the president’s criticisms on Twitter and demands to maximize hiring at home, the carmakers are pushing the administration for regulatory help that could boost their profits and encourage investing in domestic factories.”

Photo by: Sam VarnHagen











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