Auto industry asks the EU for lower CO2 fines

The year 2025 starts in a few weeks and for car manufacturers, it will be a crucial year. Those who exceed the new limit set by Brussels on the average CO2 emissions of cars will be forced to pay Europe hefty fines. More precisely, £80 for every gram of CO2 in excess of the limit imposed for each group, all multiplied by the number of cars sold in the EU markets in a year.

The impact of the fines on the entire car industry could reach £12.5 billion, according to figures quoted by Renault CEO Luca de Meo. So today, ahead of the Competitiveness Council meeting on Thursday 28 November, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) urged the EU Member States to put aside their differences and agree on the most urgent measure: to ease compliance costs by 2025.

2025 will be tough:

Manufacturers must push the electric car (or risk fines)

Environmental goal remains

In calling for lighter fines, the automotive industry reiterated its commitment to the EU's climate neutrality target by 2050 and the transition to zero-emission mobility. "However, with the clock ticking towards 2025, manufacturers face increasing challenges to meet their CO2 reduction targets due to weak demand for battery electric vehicles and a deteriorating economic climate," the note reads.

Sigrid de Vries, Director General of ACEA (which represents the 15 largest manufacturers of cars, vans, trucks and buses based in Europe), said:

"Manufacturers alone are bearing the brunt of a transformation hampered by factors beyond their control, such as inadequate charging infrastructure and insufficient purchase incentives."

Ensuring resilience

According to ACEA, it is encouraging to see EU Member States discussing concrete and viable options to alleviate the immediate and "disproportionate" pressure on compliance, such as introducing multi-year compliance periods or allowing the accumulation and borrowing of CO2 credits for years.

However, the reduction of fines by 2025 remains urgent, "keeping the green mobility transformation firmly on track." This is essential "to ensure the resilience of the EU's vehicle sector," writes ACEA, a sector that alone accounts for more than 7.5 per cent of European GDP, employs 13.2 million people (10.3 per cent of all manufacturing jobs in the EU); and generates £320 billion in tax revenues for European governments.