The European automotive industry asks the EU to boost demand for electric vehicles

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) asked today to the EU “a robust industrial plan” so as not to lose competitiveness, which includes financing, incentives and access to raw materials, as well as the creation of demand for electric vehicles and the deployment of electric charging and hydrogen refueling points.

“The manufacturers of automobiles of the EU are firmly committed to decarbonization (…) but we cannot make this transition alone”, said in a statement the president of the Renault Group and ACEA, Luca de Meo, after meeting with the European Commissioner for Climate Action Wopke Hoekstra, and, before, with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel.

Next week, Brussels will host a European summit in which the leaders of EU countries and institutions will analyze how to make the community economy more competitive in the next five years in the technological race of decarbonization in which it competes with China and the United States, among others.

And after the contacts between the European institutions and the automotive industry, the president of ACEA stressed that “Europe needs to create the conditions for competitiveness and market demand electric vehicles”.

Di Meo listed several areas to move forward, such as the deployment of “hydrogen charging and refueling infrastructure, the supply of critical raw materials, better access to financing and market incentives. In other words, a holistic industrial strategy will be the key to achieving Europe’s green ambitions.”.

The main employers’ association of the automotive industry in the EU assures that “Car manufacturers and suppliers want to maintain production in Europe, preserving jobs and investment in the region,” but warn that they are facing a “perfect storm.”

This translates into a “fierce global competition for critical resources, financing, investments and customers, compounded by the rising costs of doing business, a radically changing geopolitical landscape and an electric vehicle market that is far from mature,” the builders point out.

“Given these profound difficulties, Europe must strengthen its competitiveness and build a stronger business case for the green and digital transition of the automotive industry,” adds a sector that, according to the approved legislation, from 2035 onwards will only be able to sell zero-emission vehicles in the EU.

For his part, the CEO of the automotive division of the German group Schaeffler and president of the European Automotive Suppliers Association (CLEPA), Matthias Zink, pointed out that financing the transition is “clue” in an economic context “challenging” with a “decline in EV adoption and waning profits within the supply chain.”

Component manufacturers called to minimize the risks of investment in innovative technologies and to transform production centers and the workforce, as well as to maintain a regulatory framework “which must remain ambitious but flexible.”

At the dialogue table with the commissioner, European truck and bus manufacturers and suppliers stressed “the pressing need to put zero-emission trucks and buses on the roads”, but they also asked for a boost to climate-neutral solutions for combustion engines, which will continue to be present in heavy transport. “long-term”.

They also insisted on the importance of deploying a network of electric charging and hydrogen refueling stations for trucks. “and a favorable carbon pricing framework to ensure cost parity for zero-emission vehicles.”

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