From proposal to formal request: the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) calls on the EU government what the new average emissions limit is delayed that car brands in Europe will have to comply with from now on 2025.
This could delay the planned schedule for emissions reductions, including Total ban on new gasoline cars from 2035.
Fewer and fewer electric cars are being sold and brands will not be able to meet the new limits
From 2025 onwardslas average emissions from cars that brands market in Europe may not exceed 93.6 g/km of CO₂ and vans are at 153.9 g/km. However, the manufacturers’ association considers that these limits imposed do not adapt to the reality of the industry or to users.
Thus, ACEA asks the EU to “present Urgent relief measures before new CO₂ targets come into force for cars and vans in 2025″. To this end, its application should be delayed. Although they do not indicate how much, they did in the draft of this proposal: They requested a two-year margin, that is, until 2027..
The new limits do not correspond to reality. Manufacturers put forward several arguments. Firstly, sales of electric cars have been stagnant for some time or are even declining: In August, the share of pure electric vehicles was set at 14.4%. compared to 21% last year. So far in 2024, they represent 12.6% of sales, compared to 13.9% in 2023.
This slow take-off, they believe, is due to a charging infrastructure that is still lacking or poor incentive policies, which do not really encourage buyers to switch to an electric car or a plug-in hybrid. Something that is not going to change in four months.
Added to this is fierce competition from electric cars arriving from China, which are more reasonably priced. Although for the moment in Europe, this threat to traditional firms is not as real as they claim.
Be that as it may, Brands find it impossible to adjust to this new emissions average and will have to pay multimillion-dollar fines. This in turn, they say, will force them to reduce investments in this electrical transition, as well as to accept cuts in production or employment.
An example can be found in the complex situation of Volkswagen: Low demand for its electric cars and a poor zero-emission strategy are leading it to consider closing factories in Europe, something unthinkable years ago. Thousands of jobs are hanging by a thread, given the reduction in profits and the need to cut costs. Along with Ford, it is the firm that has the most difficulty adjusting to the new emissions limit, according to the latest report from Transport & Environment (T&E).
It should be remembered that ACEA represents firms such as the Volkswagen Group, Volvo, Toyota, Renault, Honda, Hyundai and Kia, BMW and Ford. This is not the case for Stellantis, which has left the association and has distanced itself from the proposal, calling it “surrealist”. In the opinion of Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, his brands have done their homework and the rest have not. Although, for example, Fiat has had to stop production of the electric Fiat 500 because it is hardly selling.
Goodbye to the total ban on gasoline in 2035? If Europe agrees to delay the average emissions limit, this would mean a change in the rest of the calendar as it ends in the 0 g/km de CO2 by 2035, when Diesel and gasoline cars cannot be sold new in EuropeThe measure was approved last year, although leaving the door open to thermal power plants that run on e-fuels.
The regulations are scheduled to be reviewed in 2026, so what has already been approved could change and the total veto may not apply. In any case, ACEA assures that it is open to debate with the community government.
Not only brands see the thermal ban in 2035 as premature, but also countries where the automotive industry is key. For example, Italy is openly against the measure and has already urged “to change the ban.” The Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has insisted on this again. branding the measure as a “self-destructive stance”: “Supporting the industrial sector in the challenge of ecological transition cannot mean dismantling entire sectors.”
We will see how the EU government responds to the brands’ request. Italy, Bulgaria and Romania abstained in the final vote on the 2035 ban, and only Poland abstained. Germany, initially reluctant, ended up voting in favour of including the exception for e-fuels.
Source: www.motorpasion.com
