“We will not punish car manufacturers”
The Czech Republic will join Italy in trying to prevent high fines for car manufacturers for breaching the CO2 emission ceiling, Transport Minister Martin Kupka said. Car manufacturers will find it difficult to meet stricter EU regulations on harmful emissions due to falling demand for electric vehicles in Europe, a Czech minister has warned.
The Czech Republic and Italy agreed last Friday that they will represent a common position at the summit in Budapest, added Kupka.
Starting next year, the EU intends to lower the upper limit of permitted emissions from new vehicles, from 116 grams per kilometer to 94 grams per kilometer. Breaking that ceiling could bring manufacturers a fine of 95 euros per gram of CO2 per kilometer exceeded, multiplied by the number of vehicles sold. Companies are struggling to reduce emissions within prescribed limits, the Czech minister said.
“They can’t do it because the interest in electric cars in the whole of Europe is waning,” Kupka said on CNN’s weekly debate show Prima News. According to him, if they are forced to pay fines, the companies will not have money for research and development.
The Czech Republic belongs to the group of EU countries that oppose the green plan of the European Commission. The share of the automotive industry in the Czech GDP is about nine percent, with 1.4 million cars produced in 2023, per 10.4 million inhabitants. Volkswagen’s Škoda Auto, South Korea’s Hyundai Motor and Japan’s Toyota Motor have plants in the Czech Republic.
Prague, according to an unnamed source told Reuters, abstained from voting on additional tariffs on electric car imports from China. According to him, the Czech Republic ranked alongside Croatia, Belgium, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Austria, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and Finland.
Germany tried to gather the necessary majority to block the decision, but only Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia and Malta joined it. According to an unnamed source, the Commission’s proposal was supported by France, Poland, Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria and Denmark.
The European Commission concluded its investigation into subsidies by introducing final countervailing duties ranging from 17 to 36 percent for a period of five years.
Source: Index.hr / Hina
Photo: Autoblog.rs Archive / Škoda
Source: autoblog.rs
