German automakers relax a bit on CO₂ rules

The German automakers, through their lobbying group VDA (Verband der Automobilindustrie), say they're no longer against the European Commission plan to require a reduction in vehicle CO₂ emission to 120 g/km. Reuters reports that the German companies - most notably BMW, Daimler and VW - agree that 120 is a good target, but are still holding out to have that limit imposed in 2015 instead of 2012. The VDA isn't all of a sudden totally on the side of the EU regulators, and VDA President Matthias Wissmann said in a statement that, "The Commission's proposal is not innovation friendly enough, is too fixated on engine technology, too inflexible, particularly in its timetable, and too fixated on penalties." Still, getting the VDA to say that 120 grams per kilometer is the right target is a good thing. We'll see how they feel when they hear that the goalposts might get moved to 95 g/km.
[Source: Reuters]