Ford of Europe said it will join an open emissions pool with other manufacturers to bring down its CO2 levels and avoid fines in the region after it was forced to stop sales of its key low-emissions model, the Kuga plug-in hybrid.
Ford did not say which manufacturer it would join, but Renault has filed notice with the European Commission that it is accepting partners for an open emissions pool.
In addition, Volvo Cars said earlier this month that it would be open to forming an open pool, according to a report in the Financial Times. Volvo was part of Ford until 2010 when the U.S. company sold the Swedish automaker to its current owner, China's Zhejiang Geely Holding.
Renault and Volvo are likely to be well under their emissions targets for 2020.
"We will provide more details in the next few days," a Ford spokesman said. All notices to form pools must be filed with the European Commission by the end of October.
Ford said that paying fines was not an option and said it would have met its CO2 target of 98 grams per km for the year had it not run into problems with the Kuga.