A number of leading carmakers have dismissed the views of institutional investors by failing to respond to requests for more information on lobbying and on compliance with CO2 and efficiency standards in both the EU and the US.
Of the institutional investors, Swedish national pension fund AP7 said there is a transparency problem in the industry, particularly in the wake of the VW emissions test cheating in October 2015.
“From a long term investor’s perspective this is bad news,” AP7 ESG manager Charlotta Dawidowski Sydstrand said.
“Lack of transparency impairs the ability of the market to price risks properly. AP7 wants to be reassured that carmakers’ political lobbying activities are contributing to a safe climate, in turn protecting the long term value of our portfolios.”
ShareAction CEO Catherine Howarth said “the investors who came together to question global automakers on their lobbying activities have done the wider market a service in helping identify those car makers that remain unwilling to come clean about this murky and increasingly risky aspect of their business”.
“Shareholders should continue to press for answers in the interests of having greater visibility on car makers’ lobbying activities.”
Investors also wrote to VW, BMW, Daimler, Honda, Toyota, GM, and Fiat Chrysler who did however each provide varying degrees of detail.
Daimler offered a one-line assurance that “there is no reason to be concerned” about the company’s involvement in the legislative process. This is despite the fact Daimler has routinely paid fines to the US government for not complying with CAFE efficiency standards. Daimler also ranked very poorly for CO2 fleet emissions in 2015 the EU.
By contrast, Japanese carmakers Toyota and Honda, both leaders in fleet emissions and efficiency offered a good degree of information, as did General Motors and BMW.
The full Greenhouse gas emissions regulations: the automotive makers disclose to investors report can be accessed here
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