The electric car is the real challenge for the new European Commission

After the celebrations following her confirmation as head of the Commission in the European Parliament, it is already time for Ursula von der Leyen to return to work. This time, in addition to being the head of the executive, she will also take the wheel of the European car.

Von der Leyen will, in fact, personally lead the four-wheeler sector, accompanying it during the "profound and disruptive" transition to zero emissions. The announcement comes on the sidelines of the same re-election in Strasbourg, voted by a majority of 370 members out of 688 voters (with 282 against and 36 abstaining).

"The car industry is a European pride," she said. "Millions of jobs depend on it and together we must ensure that the future continues to be made in Europe. We therefore need a wide-ranging dialogue, which will last for a reasonably long time and which," she specifies, "will take place under my personal leadership, because this is a very important industry."

However, the president does not specify the ideas she will bring to the continent's industry. A silence that, in light of the crisis that has erupted in recent weeks, could mean a greater openness than that granted in July, when - again appearing in front of the Europarliament to make her re-election official - Von der Leyen had promised a transition brought about by:

"a wide range of innovative technologies" and "a technology-neutral approach, in which synthetic fuels can play a role through a targeted amendment of the regulation as part of the planned revision."

Ursula von der Leyen in front of the European Parliament

In practice, not only electric cars but also e-fuels and, perhaps, biofuels are in the future of European mobility. This approach was confirmed at the beginning of November by the newly appointed Commissioner for Transport, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, who reiterated at the hearings in Strasbourg his desire both to halt sales of petrol and diesel in 2035 and to re-evaluate the environmental sustainability of synthetic fuels in 2026, possibly authorising them to power internal combustion engines.

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What is certain, for now, is that the goal of leaving only zero-emission cars in dealerships is not in doubt. In short, the route changes, but not the destination. However, the knots on costs, efficiency, and health impact of e-fuel and biofuel remain unravelled.

Instead, the stages of this roadmap could be discussed, starting with the one that asks manufacturers to reduce CO2 emissions from new vehicles by 15 percent by 2025. In practice, this would mean selling more electric cars and fewer thermal cars as early as next year. Given the current registration crisis, this would be difficult and would cost manufacturers around 15 billion euros in fines.

Recipe against the crisis

The route revision is also at the heart of the anticipated non-paper that Minister Adolfo Urso has prepared together with the Czech Republic, Austria, Bulgaria, Malta, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia and presented to the EU Competitiveness Council.

"We confirm the goal of full decarbonisation by 2035," says the minister, "but we ask that the conditions be created, as Mario Draghi's report also indicates, to reach that goal competitively. In particular, we ask that the review clauses already planned for 2026 (for light vehicles) and 2027 (for heavy vehicles) be brought forward to the beginning of next year, because in this uncertainty of what we will decide in two years' time, no one is investing any more, neither companies nor consumers".

Again, Urso, taking advantage of the meeting with Stellantis on 14 November, proposed the European car incentives as "stable and long-lasting over time, with common resources for consumers" on the continent. Von der Leyen will also consider this idea, having given herself 100 days to decide on the next steps.

Therefore, the work is not lacking, and the European Commission's North Star pledge remains fixed on the horizon. The course, however, is full of unknowns and, probably, adjustments.

More from the EU:

The European Commission wants to re-evaluate the idea of e-fuels

European Union threatens millions of diesel cars

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