Faced with slowing electric vehicle sales growth, increasing competition from China and fears of widespread job losses, the European Commission is working on an aid package for the automotive industry.
Many automakers and nations are pushing hard for changes to the effective ban on new vehicles with internal combustion engines from 2035, although there are some prominent dissenting voices.
Seen in a letter from ReutersSix member states (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Slovakia) have written to the European Commission requesting that hybrid vehicles and vehicles with other technologies “that could contribute to the goal of reducing emissions” be approved for sale after 2035.
The letter also calls for low-carbon and renewable fuels to be part of the Union’s plans to reduce carbon emissions from the transport sector.
With Daily Sparkz you can save thousands on a new car. Click Here to get a great deal.
“We can and must pursue our climate goals effectively without jeopardizing our competitiveness, as there is nothing green in an industrial desert,” the letter continues.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz is calling on the Commission to approve plug-in hybrid and range extender electric vehicles as well as highly efficient internal combustion engines after 2035. Italy, meanwhile, is pushing for cars that use biofuels to be exempt from the ban from 2035.
BMW is also aiming for plug-in hybrids and “sustainable” fuels to be approved after 2035. The Bavarian automaker also wants EU regulations to also take life cycle emissions into account, not just exhaust emissions.
Environmental groups oppose changing the effective mandate for electric vehicles. Lucien Mathieu, director of the advocacy group Transport & Environment, argues that a biofuel exemption would lead to an increase in carbon emissions, reduce the availability of biofuels for ships and aircraft and would likely have unintended consequences such as an increase in deforestation.
Not all car manufacturers or automotive countries are in favor of easing the EU ban on internal combustion engines for new cars by 2035.
France, for example, is calling on the EU to support local battery production and has proposed mandatory electrification of company fleets with EU-made vehicles.
French President Emmanuel Macron told France 24: “If we abandon the 2035 target, we will forget about European battery factories.”
In an interview with The GuardianMichael Lohscheller, CEO of Polestar, said: “Pausing in 2035 is simply a bad, bad idea. I have no other words for it. If Europe doesn’t take the lead in this transformation, you can be sure that other countries will do it for us.”
Håkan Samuelsson, head of sister brand Volvo, compares today’s fight to the resistance of car manufacturers to catalytic converters and seat belts.
“If they weren’t mandatory, we would probably have 30 percent of our cars without seat belts, and if you take into account the additional costs, we probably wouldn’t have cars with catalytic converters either unless they were mandatory,” Samuelsson told the British newspaper.
The European Commission is expected to publish its proposed aid package on December 10th. However, due to the complexity of the issues at hand and the very different opinions, it is possible that the deadline will be extended.
In addition to possible changes to the ban on internal combustion engines, the package is also expected to include incentives for greener corporate fleets, encouraging the use of EU-made components in battery packs and easing interim CO2 targets.
The Commission is also likely to introduce a new “E-car” category for electric city cars manufactured in Europe.
Once the aid package is presented to the Commission, it will need approval from the European Council and the EU Parliament, a process that is expected to take months.
