All of the German manufacturers have been seeking this abatement since well before the new CAFE standards were announced. They claim they should be exempt because they do 'low volume' (sub 400k units a year, I believe).
In fact it is called the "German Provision," but covers a couple Asian companies that do relatively few sales also. They don't typically make cars that get horrible mileage, however. This has been ongoing since middle of last year, but there has been little coverage of it.
If the government is serious about fuel economy and not just looking useful, they would hold everyone to the new standards.
Fuel Rules to Spare BMW, Daimler - WSJ.com