Brussels, 17 December 2018 – The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) takes note of the final deal on the CO2 regulation for cars and vans, setting targets for the years 2025 and 2030, which was struck by the EU member states and the European Parliament today.
ACEA expresses serious concerns about the highly challenging CO2 target that auto manufacturers will have to meet by 2030. Delivering a 37.5% CO2 reduction might sound plausible, but is totally unrealistic based on where we stand today. Industry deplores that this 2030 target is driven purely by political motives, without taking technological and socio-economic realities into account.
“ACEA’s members are of course committed to further reducing CO2 emissions from their vehicles, but these targets will be extremely demanding on Europe’s auto industry,” stated ACEA Secretary General, Erik Jonnaert. “Indeed, they will require a much stronger market uptake of electric and other alternatively-powered vehicles than is currently proving possible.”
Jonnaert: “All our member companies will continue to invest in their portfolios of alternatively-powered cars and vans, but there are still several obstacles putting the brakes on widespread consumer acceptance, such as affordability and the lack of a sufficiently dense network of recharging and refuelling infrastructure.”
ACEA calls on the 28 member states and the European Commission to ensure that all the enabling conditions are in place for these aggressive CO2 reduction levels, notably the much-needed investments in infrastructure.
Undeniably, these extremely ambitious CO2 targets will have a seismic impact on jobs across the entire automotive value chain, which employs some 13.3 million Europeans. In order to mitigate the negative impact of these structural changes, policy makers need to act swiftly by presenting concrete plans to manage this employment and skills transition in a proper, socially-acceptable way.
Today’s deal still needs to be approved by the Council and voted in the plenary of the European Parliament.
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Notes for editors
ACEA represents the 15 major Europe-based car, van, truck and bus manufacturers: BMW Group, DAF Trucks, Daimler, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford of Europe, Honda Motor Europe, Hyundai Motor Europe, Iveco, Jaguar Land Rover, PSA Group, Renault Group, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group, Volvo Cars, and Volvo Group.
More information can be found on www.acea.be or @ACEA_eu.
Contact: Cara McLaughlin, Communications Director, cm@acea.be, +32 2 738 73 45.
About the EU automobile industry
13.3 million people – or 6.1% of the EU employed population – work directly and indirectly in the sector.
The 3.4 million jobs in automotive manufacturing represent over 11% of total EU manufacturing employment.
Motor vehicles account for some €413 billion in tax contributions in the EU15.
The sector is also a key driver of knowledge and innovation, representing Europe’s largest private contributor to R&D, with €54 billion invested annually.
The automobile industry generates a trade surplus of €90.3 billion for the EU.