SYDNEY, March 8 (Reuters) - Electric vehicle maker

Polestar Australia quit Australia's major automotive lobby on

Friday, a day after Tesla did the same, in protest over the

organisation's criticism of proposed federal vehicle emissions

regulations.

In a letter to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries,

Polestar Australia, part-owned by China's Geely Automobile ( GELYF )

, said the FCAI's commentary against the proposed

regulations did not represent it and had "irrevocably damaged"

public trust in the policy.

To get more electric vehicles on the road and cut emissions,

Australia has proposed vehicle efficiency standards that will

penalise car makers who import emissions intensive models and

reward those who bring in cleaner vehicles.

Delaying or making the standards less stringent, as the FCAI

has called for, would keep Australia a dumping ground for old

technology vehicles and force the emissions burden elsewhere in

the economy, Polestar Australia added in the letter.

"The brand cannot in good faith continue to allow its

membership fees to fund a campaign designed to deliberately slow

the car industry's contribution to Australia's emissions

reduction potential," head of Polestar Australia, Samantha

Johnson, said in the letter.

Tesla quit the FCAI on Thursday and resigned from

its board, accusing it of making false claims about the proposed

standards and their affect on car prices.

In response to questions about the exits, the FCAI said on

Friday it could not support a standard that met the needs for

the owners of premium vehicles while leaving others with fewer

choices and higher prices.

The FCAI said its members represent more than 50 brands. Its

chair and two deputy chairs are from Mazda ( MZDAF ), Toyota ( TM )

and Mitsubishi Motors ( MMTOF ), respectively.

Australia's centre-left Labor government opened consultation

on the standards in February, and also released a "preferred

model" for the new standards.

It aims to introduce the new standard in 2025, which will

become more stringent each year, with the aim to hit average

vehicle emissions intensity similar to the U.S. by around 2028.

Russia and Australia are among the only developed countries

without fuel efficiency standards.

The FCAI said earlier this week the government's preferred

option would raise prices and limit options, especially for the

pick-up trucks popular in the country.