THE’Acea, whose president is Luca De Meo, has asked Europe to postpone the introduction of new limits on CO2 emissions until 2027which should come into force in 2025 (an average of 95 g/km of CO2 for each manufacturer’s vehicle fleet). ACEA, as an association committed to supporting the European automotive sector, and representing companies producing cars, vans, heavy-duty vehicles and buses within the Union, provides a detailed explanation of the reasons that motivated the request.
CO2 Emissions Limits for Car Manufacturers, Acea’s Request
The Acea documentwhich calls for a postponement of the introduction of limits on CO2 emissions, which has been made clear in recent hours, has been addressed to Brussels. Through this request, The company said that the car trade is not yet ready to accommodate new regulations, firstly because manufacturers are facing problems, and secondly, due to the lack of infrastructure and financial support for the purchase of electric vehicles..
In fairness, ACEA states that, to reach the objectives set by Europe, electric vehicles will have to reach a profit of 22% of the market share. Dataforce research, however, has shown that the share should be at least 37%. In contrast, to date BEVs in the European Union have reached less than 15% of sales.
European emissions, the words of Acea
In the document, Acea stated the following:
“The European Union is in a crisis caused by low consumer demand for electric vehicles and unfair competition from third-country electric vehicle manufacturers, which means that the EU industry will not be able to meet its emissions reduction targets.“.
Therefore, The association believes that the limits set by the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) for 2025 are unattainableand also describes several “dark” scenarios, including: one that consists of stopping the production of 2 million cars and 700,000 vans, in order to reach the imposed average on emissions. But this could jeopardize the closure of a series of factories. Another consists of not burdening production, as manufacturers would face fines of 13 billion euros for vehicles, and over 3 billion for vans. Another scenario concerns the “drastic reduction” of the costs of electric vehicles, as, in order to sell as many as possible, this would affect profits (if incentives are not implemented). Finally, the company has brought up the “pooling” and alliances with non-European producers in order to reduce emissions, but which could cause further damage to European industry.
In the future, according to ACEA, European manufacturers will sell 500,000 fewer electric vehicles and 150,000 fewer commercial vehicles than expected. The calculations regarding the reduction of emissions were actually based on 2016 data, and predicted a rapid growth of the electric market. But as stated so far, the current context is completely different. Therefore, manufacturers will suffer the consequences.
Stellantis says it is ready for the production of electric vehicles
StellantisInstead, does not ask for the postponement of the emission limits foreseen for 2025indeed, claims to be against the proposal of European manufacturers, and intends to intensify the production of more affordable electric vehicles. In truth, it was Carlos Tavares himself, who spoke at the presentation event of the global hub for commercial vehicles Pro One (held in Turin), who confirmed this. The Mirafiori plant is in fact considered an important production hub for hybrid vehicles (as they are having success), according to the CEO.
Tavares’ words
Tavares stated the following in an interview:
“In recent years, precisely to avoid a situation similar to that of Volkswagen, we have done unpopular things. And we have been criticized for this, for having made decisions that were not always well understood. We have reiterated that the biggest problem with electrification is affordability. And we see clearly, especially here in Italy, that the consumer is telling us that he wants to buy electric vehicles at the price of vehicles with internal combustion engines. If you do not sell profitably, however, you put your company at risk. We are approaching 2025, the year in which manufacturers will have to double their BEV sales mix to avoid fines…
I am a grandfather of four grandchildren, aged six to twelve, and I have something important to do to help solve the problem of global warming. And that is why we have decided to be Carbon Neutral by 2038. The EU decision is brutal, but it has been gradual, since 2018. It is not a surprise. Yes, we could have done something smarter, but that is how it went… My technology is ready. My cars are ready, my factories are ready. The rules are known. The competition is about to start. Why should we change the rules? Because global warming is no longer a problem? Should I tell you how many forest fires we have right now in Portugal as we speak? Half the country is on fire. So what are we talking about? Are we serious or not about global warming? If we want to do something about it, well, Stellantis is ready“.
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