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Car industry appeals to EU legislators ahead of crucial votes
25/5/2022
News
A broad cross-industry coalition including Ford of Europe and Volvo Cars are appealing to the European Union (EU) to ensure all new cars and vans in Europe are zero emission from 2035 and to establish mandatory charging infrastructure targets.
The coalition says the deadline for new fossil fuel engines is needed to ensure the last cars and vans powered by internal combustion engines are off the road by 2050 – when Europe is required to reach net zero emissions. The vehicle manufacturers, which together sold around 800,000 cars in Europe last year, have appealed to EU lawmakers in a joint letter signed with 26 other companies representing a range of industries.
While 15 car brands have voluntarily pledged to only sell electric cars in Europe in the next decade, the signatories say it is down to EU decision makers to mirror this in firm vehicle regulation to provide planning certainty for industry, but also for infrastructure providers and customers in the transition to electric vehicles.
The letter is addressed to MEPs and EU governments as they decide on new clean car rules including a proposal by the European Commission (EC) that only zero emission new cars and vans – and not hybrids – can be sold EU-wide from 2035. The signatories explicitly support this EC proposal.
The European Parliament and EU governments will decide their positions on the 2035 zero emissions vehicles target in June. Following negotiations, the final law is expected to be adopted in autumn.
Electric vehicles (EVs), which already account for 10% of cars sold across the EU, are a readily available solution to climate emissions and dangerous air pollution, says the coalition. Cars and vans are responsible for 15% of all CO2 emissions and are also the single largest source of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution, which the European Environment Agency estimates causes over 40,000 premature deaths in Europe every year.
Setting an end date for fossil fuel car sales will also kick start a systemic transformation in Europe’s car industry and make it a global leader in a key sector for a net zero future, say the companies, which also include utilities Iberdrola and Vattenfall, and businesses which operate major vehicle fleets such as Zurich and Sanofi. Many are concerned about the lack of supply of EVs to decarbonise their own vehicle fleets.
Combustion engine cars are also responsible for about a third of all oil imports into Europe. Switching to fossil free road transport would enhance the continent’s energy security and cut the billions of euros it sends abroad for oil every year, claim the companies.
