A coalition of European truck manufacturers is facing criticism over a legal intervention in the United States that seeks to uphold the Trump administration’s repeal of a cornerstone climate policy.
Germany’s Daimler Truck, Sweden’s Volvo Group and Traton – the parent company of International Motors – are behind a motion filed by the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association (EMA) to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s reversal of greenhouse gas standards for medium and heavy-duty vehicles.
The EMA, whose members control a dominant share of the North American truck market, is seeking to defend the repeal of ‘Phase 3’ standards that would have required increasing sales of zero-emission trucks starting in 2027. Daimler alone holds roughly 40% of the US market.
In its court filing, the EMA argues that the standards amount to a de facto mandate forcing a transition to electric vehicles – something the group claims Congress never authorised. The filing warns that reinstating the rules would be ‘devastating’ to the trucking industry and the broader economy.
But clean transport advocates say such arguments are wildly exaggerated.
Craig Segall, former Deputy Executive Officer and Assistant Chief Counsel of the California Air Resources Board said: ‘The truck cartel just sided in court with Donald Trump to blow up climate progress. As diesel price spike, they feebly announced it is too hard to bring US drivers the same kinds of affordable electric trucks that are zooming down every port street in China – so they won’t try. If I had a single dollar invested in one of these companies, I’d demand the leadership be fired if they don’t disavow this anti-customer lawsuit.’
Critics also point out that with diesel prices having passed the $5 a gallon mark, many fleets are eager for affordable electric alternatives. Yet the EMA’s motion, they argue, would lock the US trucking industry into volatile fossil fuel prices while holding back the rollout of zero-emission vehicles.
The EMA’s lead lawyer in the case, Bill Wehrum, who served as the EPA’s chief air quality official under the first Trump administration, stepping down in 2019 amid ethics investigations related to his previous work as a lobbyist for companies regulated by the agency.
This is not the first time the manufacturers have moved to block clean truck rules. Last August, Daimler, Volvo, Paccar and International Motors sued California over its Clean Truck Partnership, an agreement meant to advance electrification regardless of federal rollbacks. The industry also lobbied Congress successfully last year to repeal California’s waiver to set its own emissions standards.
Similar tensions are brewing in Europe, where manufacturers are pushing to weaken EU CO₂ targets even as Chinese competitors surge ahead. An estimated 25% of new trucks sold in China last year were electric, while European uptake is also rising. By contrast, Daimler reported that just 1.5% of its total vehicle sales in 2025 were zero-emission.
Katherine Garcia, Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All Campaign Director added: ‘The Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association’s support of EPA’s repeal of life-saving clean truck standards is appalling. Truck manufacturers like Daimler and Volvo have slow-walked clean trucks for years and now want to throw them under the bus altogether, undermining American competitiveness and thumbing their nose at truck drivers and communities who demand the health and climate benefits of clean trucks.’
Photo: Jairph
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