The Association of International Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (VDIK) welcomes the fact that the EU Commission has succeeded in presenting a comprehensive package of measures for the automotive industry in Europe in a very short space of time with the “Industrial Action Plan for the European Automotive Sector”. The Commission’s proposal takes up a central demand of the VDIK to suspend penalty payments for passenger cars in 2025. This is now to be made possible by allowing car manufacturers to compensate for exceeding the targets for CO2 fleet limits in one or two years by overfulfilling them in the other years. The planned regulation still must be confirmed by the EU member states and the European Parliament.
Bringing reviews forward
“The results of the strategic dialog point in the right direction. Extending the deadline by two years is a fair proposal from the EU Commission, as sales of electric cars are currently lagging well behind previous forecasts. The new regulation would avoid an additional financial burden on car manufacturers without reducing the overall targets for 2025 or calling into question the regulation for 2035. It will now be crucial to bring forward the relevant reviews for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles as well as for heavy commercial vehicles to adapt the necessary framework conditions on this basis. The fact that the Commission wants to speed up this process and align it with the principle of technological openness is a good signal,” says VDIK President Imelda Labbé.
More positive communication on electromobility
Confidence in driving technology, economic affordability and the charging infrastructure will determine whether consumers can and want to switch to climate-neutral drives as quickly as possible. An optimistic public attitude towards electromobility on the part of all opinion leaders, especially politicians, is of central importance for building customer confidence.
“Basically, we would have liked the Action Plan to provide more impetus for positive communication to increase consumer confidence in electromobility. There is a lot of catching up to do here, and politicians must now finally create long-term and stable framework conditions for electromobility,” says Labbé.
The VDIK is therefore calling for a reliable transformation plan, the expansion of the charging infrastructure, predictable incentives with a stable residual value for all customer groups, a competitive charging price and advantages for e-car drivers in traffic. Above all, individual mobility must not become any more expensive. This is the only way to achieve European and national climate targets in the future while remaining open to new technologies.
Less regulation
As part of the Action Plan, the Commission wants to launch a package to simplify legislation for the automotive industry. This is certainly a first step, but overall, the proposals around reducing bureaucracy fall short of expectations. The Commission’s intention to present a sector-specific regulation is therefore a step in the wrong direction. With the Data Act, there is an existing regulation that is sufficient from the association’s point of view. Further burdens on manufacturers through additional regulation or restrictions on data and cyber security must be avoided.
