A new report has called out the automotive industry for “spearheading global opposition” to climate policy action, with only US EV maker Tesla found to have both 1.5°C-aligned manufacturing targets and constructive climate policy engagement.
The report from InfluenceMap uses the outfit’s established climate engagement tracking platform and auto industry data from IHS Markit to rank 12 of the largest automakers in 10 key sales regions around the world.
The findings, measured in terms of policy engagement and progress towards Paris-aligned manufacturing targets out to 2029, betray an industry that has far from come to terms with the urgency of the shift to zero emissions vehicles.
Across the board, InfluenceMap says the automotive sector remains a “major opponent” of strong climate action globally, with eight of the 12 carmakers analysed scored as either a D or D+, with D or below indicating “obstructive policy engagement.”
Japanese carmakers Toyota and Nissan – which between them delivered the world’s first mass produced hybrid electric and all-electric cars, the Prius and the Leaf – came out of the report as “global laggards” in the production of battery electric cars.
By 2029, just 14% of Toyota’s worldwide production is forecast to be battery electric, while for Nissan it’s 22%, with fellow Japanese automaker Honda somewhere in-between at 18% worldwide battery electric vehicle production by 2029.
Toyota, too, comes in last on engagement with climate-related vehicle and energy policies and regulations, scoring a ‘D’ grade on InfluenceMap’s A-to-F system of measuring against Paris Agreement benchmarks. Nissan gets a D+
culled from thedriven.io
