MEMA and its members announced in a statement that they support the objectives of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to improve national air quality through improvements to heavy-duty vehicles, and applauds the agency for incorporating improvements to the rule. The supplier industry directly designs and manufactures vehicle components and systems that enable the transformation of the mobility sector, according to MEMA, which adds that suppliers play an essential role in providing the technology inherent to advanced internal combustion engine vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), battery electric vehicles (BEVs), as well as hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs). 

The EPA final rule includes an amended and more comprehensive analysis of compliance pathways for a variety of propulsion technologies, including PHEV, BEV, FCEV, hydrogen combustion (H2ICE) and other renewable fuel vehicles, which MEMA says should allow for more technologies to achieve compliance. MEMA particularly notes the EPA’s decision to grant additional time for certain vocational vehicles to comply by allowing different classes varying amounts of compliance time and adjusting stringency accordingly. The EPA also relaxed stringency in the early years of the implementation timeline, while still achieving significant CO2 reductions.

EPA will also allow trading and averaging of compliance within some classes, to further enable fleet compliance despite individual application and vehicle challenges. MEMA raised points concerning credit multipliers, which the EPA has now stated will be phased out gradually over time. 

MEMA says that it intends to review the final regulation and the specific details together with its member companies.