The CO₂ fleet limit will be reviewed in 2026. Habeck has announced that he is open to an earlier review. Wissing is skeptical about Habeck’s statement.
Berlin – There is a mood of crisis in the German automotive industry. At Volkswagen Plant closures and layoffs are being discussed. In a video conference with heads of Volkswagen, Mercedes, Tesla, BMW and suppliers, Economics Minister Robert Habeck announced that he would be retiring EU-level to bring forward the revision of the CO₂ fleet limits – from 2026 to 2025. Transport Minister Volker Wissing and other representatives of the FDP go further in their demands. Habeck’s statement at the so-called car summit The transport minister still seems to be skeptical about it.
German auto industry in crisis: Wissing sees Habeck “leaving his party’s course” after the initiative
In an interview with t online Wissing explained: “Robert Habeck would, however, be abandoning his party’s course.” The transport minister also said that he was “excited to see whether the Greens would go along with it.” He indirectly criticized the Greens, among others, for having “overstepped the mark on fleet limits”. “You have to become more realistic,” said the FDP politician when asked about Habeck’s statement and whether the fleet targets should be less strict. Wissing shares the Green Minister’s initiative and considers it “imperative to bring forward the planned revision from 2026 to 2025 for cars and from 2027 to 2026 for trucks and to adapt the regulation.”
Representatives of the automotive industry have long been calling for the EU’s fleet limits to be reviewed earlier. The EU fleet limits are about how much climate-damaging CO₂ vehicles are allowed to emit. If car manufacturers violate the requirement, they face fines. The limits will be tightened next year.
Since 2015, there has been a Europe-wide fleet limit of 130 grams of carbon dioxide emitted per kilometer driven; since 2021, the limit has been 95 grams per kilometer driven. With the tightening in 2025, cars will have to reduce their emissions by a further 15 percent.
FDP politicians criticize EU climate policy: companies are “virtually regulated to death”
In addition to Wissing, other representatives of the FDP have also criticized adherence to EU guidelines. Opposite the New Osnabrücker Zeitung FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr explained that automobile manufacturers could potentially face a dramatic development “if a company is regulated to death by European regulations.” In addition to the abolition of CO₂ fleet regulation, Dürr also called for the abolition of combustion engines. The federal government had previously rejected easing the fleet targets in 2025.
Union considers EU requirement to be “not feasible” – environmental associations criticize weakening of EU climate policy
The Union had also called for a relaxation of the EU requirements for new cars in an application. Loud AFPreport, the application from the CDU and CSU said: “Against the background of the current difficult economic conditions, compliance with the European CO₂ fleet limit values is currently not feasible.” Environmental associations such as Greenpeace and NABU speak out against the early revision and against a watering down of EU climate policy. (pav)
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