Is this the automotive industry equivalent of turkeys voting for Christmas or is it something we all know but few are brave enough to actually say out loud?
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Ford chairman Bill Ford has apparently said – in an interview with the Financial Times – that higher taxes to push the price of petrol up by more than 70% are needed to change Americans’ car-buying habits and usher in a new generation of fuel-efficient vehicles.
The Obama administration has announced plans to tackle greenhouse gas emissions using a cap-and-trade system.
Mr Ford reportedly said a more effective approach would be to raise petrol prices directly.
“We clearly need – whether it’s a gasoline tax or cap and trade, it’s something we do need because with gasoline at US$2 [a gallon], customer behaviour is not driving in the direction that the government would like,” he said.
The FT said his comments mark a clear break with the rest of the US auto industry.
When US gas prices were at about US$3.50 a gallon, or 70 per cent more than current prices, buying habits changed noticeably and Ford was pressed to meet demand for small cars and fuel-efficient models, Mr Ford said.
Asked how high the petrol price should be set, he added: “I don’t know where the magic number is, somewhere around that [US$3.50]. We’ve seen [behaviour] go back now that it’s around US$2. We don’t want that, we don’t think society wants that. We think price certainty is a better way to go.”
A cap and trade system, which would place a hard limit on overall emissions of carbon dioxide, would have the indirect effect of raising petrol prices slightly, but would be far less effective than a direct tax, he added.
Mr Ford is well known for his green leanings, but these latest remarks are sure to cause some controversy in the beleaguered US auto industry.
Unlike the other two members of the Detroit 3, Ford has not had to draw on government funds in order to ride this year’s brutal market downturn in North America. The company is also investing heavily in more efficient powertrain technologies and generally smaller cars, though its F-150 pickup remains a top seller.
