Brussels, December 15 (EFECOM). – The European automotive industry called on the European Commission this Monday to review regulations aimed at decarbonizing the truck and bus sector as quickly as possible, just before Brussels presents a plan to relax CO2 reduction obligations for cars and vans.
“What we have seen is not enough per se, but it is not enough for commercial vehicles either,” summarized the Director General of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), Sigrid de Vries, at a press conference.
The industry hopes that the regulatory adjustment that the municipal council will present this Tuesday, in addition to lifting the veto on the sale of new cars and vans that emit CO2 in 2035, will open the door for all types of hybrid vehicles to be considered zero-emission vehicles.
“Let the goal dictate, not the technology,” employer sources tell EFE. They point out that great progress has been made in previously marginal motorization technologies and also call for the potential of cars with hydrogen cells to be taken into account.
But the automotive industry is immediately asserting that it needs new relief from its 2030 obligations, having achieved a year ago that the CO2 reduction targets for 2025 were extended to 2027.
In addition to abolishing the internal combustion engine veto in 2035, the Commission proposal is expected to include a formula to accelerate the acquisition of electric cars in corporate fleets, a new category of small electric cars, a push for “Made in Europe” and ideas to accelerate the European battery industry.
But ACEA would also like to see a section for trucks in this package or a promise that commercial vehicles will soon also receive the attention of the European Commission.
“Europe is losing the lead,” warned the boss of truck manufacturer Daimler, Karin Rådström, at a press conference.
The subsector, which accounts for around 7% of the EU’s CO2 emissions, calls for competitiveness, less regulatory burden and better coherence between climate targets and charging infrastructure.
The most urgent thing is to relax the decarbonization targets by 2030, accelerate the development of the charging infrastructure and simplify bureaucratic requirements.
“The review is scheduled for 2027, but it will be too late,” says ACEA.
The industry is calling for a “better balance between CO2 targets and conditions such as available infrastructure”, as there are around 1,500 charging points for trucks in the EU and the target for 2030 is 35,000 sockets.
Currently, heavy vehicles show a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions of 45% in 2030 compared to 2019 (base year for regulated trucks over 3.5 tonnes), falling to 65% in 2035 and 90% in 2040.
Failure to meet these targets would entail penalties of around 2,000 million euros, according to data managed by the sector, and would prevent this money from being allocated to green investments.
The CEO of truck manufacturer Scania, Christian Levin, who also represents ACEA’s commercial vehicle division, has assured that the industry wants to decarbonize and is investing in it, so fines would be a sterile punishment.
“The work is done, fines are not necessary,” he said.
Levin also warned that Chinese manufacturers were gaining ground on European manufacturers in third markets and called for free trade agreements with India or Mercosur.
ACEA also warns about the possibility of introducing mandatory quotas for heavy electric vehicles for companies, which the industry believes could work for passenger vehicles but not for trucks.
“We don’t support it because it would lead us to the worst of both worlds: the electric drive is very expensive, so you don’t buy it; and you don’t buy a diesel engine either,” Levin concluded.
Rådström believes it is more positive to insist on the introduction of the Eurovignette – which is only fully applied in two of the 27 EU countries – and on schemes like Germany’s, which subsidizes motorway tolls for electric trucks.
An electric truck costs between two and two and a half times more than a diesel truck. But once it’s up and running, costs fall because electricity is cheaper than fossil fuels and with support programs like the system used in Germany it starts to become profitable for transport companies as long as the deployment of charging stations is accelerated, ACEA points out.
“All of this has to happen at the same time and fit together, otherwise we will not achieve decarbonization,” Rådström added. EFECOM
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