Top executives of most of the world’s major car makers agreed after a rare joint meeting on Wednesday to push for global safety and environmental standards, company officials told Reuters.
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Leaders from about 15 car makers, including General Motors, Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen met following the opening day of the Tokyo Motor Show, the officials reportedly said.
Currently, automakers must make expensive changes to vehicles to meet different safety regulations and environmental standards in various markets, the news agency noted.
“It would make sense if governments adopted the same standards, so that car makers could build to the same standards around the world,” an official with one global car maker told Reuters.
The three-hour closed-door meeting came about 13 months after auto executives met during the Paris motor show to discuss the same issue, which some said was a first in the 100-year history of the industry, Reuters noted.
GM chief executive officer Rick Wagoner, asked earlier this week about the likelihood of common safety standards around the world, said “the betting odds of getting that are really mixed,” Reuters added.
