With the 2035 ban on the production of new combustion engine cars almost set in stone, carmaker regions of the EU have banded together to demand a support mechanism to ease the transition, similar to that implemented for coal regions.
Regions from Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria and Slovakia banded together to call for a “European mechanism supporting a just, fair and successful transition for the European automotive and supply industry regions” and “dedicated additional budget headings”.
Unlike the coal regions, which had necessitated EU support by virtue of their relative poverty and oftentimes economic isolation, automotive regions are some of the EU’s wealthiest.