Fuel-economy rules to spare BMW, Daimler

German luxury automakers including BMW AG and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz are close to benefitting from a U.S. concession that will allow them and a few other foreign makers to keep selling cars that emit more greenhouse gases than those made by mass-market rivals such as General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. Under a provision of a plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the Obama administration has proposed to set less stringent standards for carmakers that sell fewer than 400,000 vehicles a year in the U.S. That target defines the major German brands as well as a few smaller Asian manufacturers such as Suzuki Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. “The German provision” — as it is known to industry lobbyists — resembles a California law that effectively exempts some foreign carmakers from having to meet the same emissions standards as their U.S. rivals. The rules are expected to be formally proposed later this year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Transportation to enforce the administration’s mandate that makers boost the average fuel efficiency of their fleets to 35.5 miles per gallon (15.09 km per liter) by 2016. (July 29, 2009)