Auto industry concern on 2025 CO2 targets as EV market stagnates

The continuous trend of a stagnating market share of battery electric cars sends an extremely worrying signal for industry and policy makers. The EU automotive industry has invested billions in electrification to put vehicles on the market, but the other necessary ingredients for this transition are not in place and the competitiveness of the EU is eroding. As a result, the transition to zero emission is highly challenging, with concerns about meeting the 2025 CO2 emission reduction targets for light-duty vehicles on the rise.

The EU is still missing crucial conditions for the mass market adoption of zero-emission cars and vans: charging and hydrogen refilling infrastructure, as well as a competitive manufacturing environment, affordable green energy, purchase and tax incentives, and a secure supply of raw materials, hydrogen and batteries. 

As was bluntly put by Mario Draghi in his Competitiveness Report, "the automotive sector is a key example of lack of EU planning, applying a climate policy without an industrial policy". This ambitious transition cannot be done by the industry alone anywhere in the world, and even less so in the absence of consistent policy measures to maintain the competitiveness of the automotive sector and facilitate the uptake of zero-emission vehicles in the EU. ACEA members are fully committed to the Paris climate goals. It is, however, clear that the transition must be made more manageable. A substantive and holistic review of the CO2 regulation will be crucial to assess real-world progress against the ambition level, and to take action as appropriate.