The European Union’s auto industry lobby has drafted a proposal that says the EU should use emergency regulations to delay the implementation of 2025 emissions targets for automakers by two years, Bloomberg reports.
According to estimates made by the proposal’s European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, the EU’s 2025 emissions targets call for each vehicle to emit about 95 grams of carbon per kilometer, forcing automakers to either stop production of about 2 million vehicles or face fines of up to 13 billion euros ($14.3 billion) for passenger cars and 3 billion euros for vans.
According to the proposal, in order for the entire EU automotive market to comply with stricter 2025 carbon emission regulations, the market share of electric passenger cars and vans in the EU, which has stagnated at less than 15 percent, should reach about 20 to 22 percent, while the market share of electric vans in the EU is even lower.
The proposal says: “Due to the current low consumer demand for electric vehicles and increased competition with Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers, the EU automotive sector may not be able to achieve the expected emission reduction targets.”
The proposal added: “The EU automotive sector has no choice but to drastically reduce production, which would threaten millions of jobs in the EU to the detriment of consumers and adversely affect the competitiveness and economic security of the EU automotive sector.”
Robin Loos, Deputy Director of the Energy Mobility and Sustainability Unit at the European Consumers’ Organization (BEUC), said, “This is a tough road to travel. These emission reduction targets were set six years ago, but EU automotive industry players failed to make adequate predictions.”
In a statement published on its website on September 12, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said, “The EU automotive industry has invested billions in the electrification transition of vehicles, but the other necessary conditions to make this transition happen are not yet in place, and the competitiveness of the EU is being eroded.”
However, a spokeswoman for the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (EAMA) said it had not yet issued a position paper or taken a formal position on the proposals.
In a longer-term dimension, the EU plans to phase out the sale of new fuel-engined vehicles by 2035, and will review that target in 2026.
However, the EU automotive industry is not only competing fiercely with Chinese carmakers, it is also struggling with high energy costs and a cost-of-living crisis that is undermining consumer demand for electric vehicles. At the same time, EU carmakers need to prepare for the 2035 EU fuel-engine car ban.