The EU needs its own version of the UK’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate to avoid a "cliff-edge" scenario in 2030 when the CO2 emissions rules tighten significantly, Renault has said.
Unlike the UK's graduated system, the EU demands an abrupt improvement in 2030 that drops the required average CO2 for each car maker from 94g/km to 50g/km.
“It is impossible: no OEM can do it,” Renault Group CEO François Provost told Autocar on the sidelines of the Twingo EV launch on 7 November.
Under the ZEV mandate, UK car makers have to hit an EV sales target that increases annually from 28% this year to 80% in 2030.
Various flexibilities, including CO2 savings from plug-in hybrid and hybrid sales and borrowing from future sales, help to reduce that target. It has been calculated at 22% for Renault this year by green transport group New Automotive.
Renault is eyeing something similar for the EU – an idea it says is backed by the European automotive industry body, ACEA.
“We need the EU to help us smooth the trajectory,” Renault brand CEO Fabrice Cambolive said. “You did that in the UK.”
Car makers have gone through a similar step this year in the EU after legislation forced them to jump from a CO2 average of 115g/km to 94g/km. This has forced a raft of EV launches and a pivot to hybrid drivetrains, along with discounts needed to persuade customers to make the shift.
Car makers in the EU can now theoretically relax until 2030, but Cambolive warned that the huge step brings its own problems, including lower residual values for new cars, because the jump doesn’t match the cadence of change among customers.
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