Gavin Newsom Goads Toyota for Standing With Trump on Pollution Fight After GM U-Turn

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Saturday goaded Toyota for siding with President Donald Trump's administration in a heated battle over fuel economy standards for motor vehicles in the state.

Last year, Toyota, General Motors (GM) and a handful of other automakers sided with the Trump administration in the legal fight over California's right to determine its own clean-air standards for greenhouse gas emissions. The state wants to uphold an Obama-era policy that requires car manufacturers to make vehicles that can hit 54.5 miles per gallon on average by 2025, but Trump wants to ease the standard to 37 miles per gallon—the difference is about six billion tons of carbon dioxide.

"@Ford led the way over a year ago and joined CA and 26 other states to shape the future of transportation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Last month @GM joined us. @Toyota—where are you?? It's never the wrong time to do the right thing," Newsom tweeted earlier today.

On November 24, GM switched their position and indicated support for the state of California and urged other car manufacturers to follow suit. At the time, Toyota said it may also abandon its support of the Trump administration in the lawsuit, but the company has yet to publicly disclose its decision.

Toyota declined Newsweek's request for further comment.

Toyota shocked Californians when it first came out in support of the Trump administration's fuel economy standards. The company, known in The Golden State for its environmental efforts and clean-car production, explained that their decision was based on their view that the federal government's authority to set emissions standards should override the state's. Some Californian's responded by vowing never to purchase a Toyota vehicle again.

"What are they thinking?" Jeff Goodby, a co-founder of a San Francisco ad agency that handles campaigns for BMW, said of Toyota at the time, according to the New York Times. "I can't imagine any Californian saying, 'All things being equal, I'm buying the brand that spews more poison into our children's air!'"

The coalition of automakers that initially sided with the White House said they would oppose a lawsuit by the Environmental Defense Fund against the Trump administration. Toyota explained that they joined the group because it favored a single standard across the country. "Given the changing circumstances, we are assessing the situation, but remain committed to our goal of a consistent, unitary set of fuel economy standards applicable in all 50 states," the company said in a statement.

The Ford Motor Company, Volkswagen of America, Volvo, Honda and BMW threw their support behind California's stricter emissions plan. GM's recent switch to team California signals that automakers are expecting a change of direction under President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration.