Automotive industry demands earlier review of EU climate regulations
The European Commission must, according to the German automotive industry, more quickly verify whether EU climate specifications for newly registered cars are feasible. A review planned for 2026 must be brought forward to next year, demands the lobby association VDA. Climate protection in transportation can only succeed if, for example, the necessary charging infrastructure is also available, according to the VDA. The background is that manufacturers are likely often unable to meet the requirements. As a result, high fines loom over the already beleaguered European automotive industry. Specifically, this concerns the so-called fleet limits.
These set a limit for the CO2 emissions of cars, which must not be exceeded on average by all vehicles registered in the EU in one year. EU targets will likely not be met Currently, this limit is 115.1 grams of CO2 per kilometer per vehicle - measured using the so-called WLTP test procedure. It is supposed to drop to 93.6 grams in 2025 and 49.5 grams in 2030. Manufacturers must pay a penalty for too much CO2 emitted. The fact that these EU climate targets are likely not to be achieved is partly due to the current demand for electromobility in Europe falling short of expectations.
The problems in the automotive industry are currently evident at VW - Europe’s largest car manufacturer. In early September, Volkswagen announced that it would intensify its cost-cutting plans due to the tense situation, and no longer rules out layoffs and plant closures. The job security measures in place since 1994 have been terminated.
VW Supervisory Board Chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch calls for relaxation of CO2 fleet targets
It is now known that the demand for electric cars in Europe falls significantly short of expectations, explained Pötsch, who is also Chairman of the Board of Porsche Automobil Holding, at the "Vienna Electric Days".
“Electromobility will prevail, but it will take more time,” Pötsch continued. “Therefore, the CO2 targets for 2025, 2030, and 2035 need to be adjusted and adapted to reality.”
The background is the EU's phased plan to reduce CO2 emissions from new cars. The fleet targets for individual manufacturers, which must be achieved on average for all new cars, will decrease by 15 percent in 2025. According to industry assessments, this can only be achieved with more electric cars, which bring down the average. Policymakers have set requirements for the industry without the necessary infrastructure in place and without considering whether customers would go along with it, criticized Pötsch. To make e-mobility successful, it needs more public support. Instead, people are unsettled by debates about electric versus combustion engines.
“We need clarity and reliability in Europe,” demanded Pötsch.
Due to the slow ramp-up of e-mobility, several manufacturers have already called for the targets to be relaxed or at least extended over time. BMW CEO Oliver Zipse had already demanded a change in the spring, and VW CEO Oliver Blume is also calling for "reasonable CO2 targets." With regard to the stricter CO2 fleet target for 2025, Blume admitted in early August that there is still a gap to be closed. He definitely wants to avoid penalties that will be due if the target is missed.
"Every euro paid in penalties is a poorly invested euro," Blume said.
EU's CO2 Targets Long Known
It is by no means the case that the CO2 requirements for automakers came suddenly or unexpectedly. A regulation passed in April 2019 set the so-called fleet carbon dioxide (CO2) limits (in grams (g) per CO2 per kilometer (km)) for passenger cars (Pkw) and light commercial vehicles. Automakers are required to further reduce the fleet limit in 2025 and 2030, otherwise penalties will be imposed. Fleet limit means that the average of all vehicles registered in the European Union (EU) in a year should not exceed this value. So not every single new car has to meet this fleet limit.
This regulatory approach has been in place in the U.S. since 1978. In Europe, a fleet limit of 130 g CO2/km for passenger cars has been in effect since 2012 (in full since 2015), after automakers' voluntary commitments to reduce CO2 emissions failed in the mid-2000s.
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