Car-making giants including the Volkswagen Group and Stellantis have backed the European Commission’s pledge to relax the EU’s CO2 targets, which were this year made much harder to hit.
But a “surprised and frustrated” Volvo has slammed the proposed law changes and criticised both the Commission and its contemporaries for lobbying to weaken the targets.
Like with the UK’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, a car maker or group’s average fleet CO2 levels are measured under EU law, with fines dished out to any that miss objectives.
The EU targets were raised for 2025 - and will be every year going forward to 2035- as Europe, like the UK, moves to banning internal combustion from the new car market in 10 year's time.
Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said that, in a bid for balance, the Commission will as part of its Future of the Automotive Industry bill ask EU lawmakers to adjust targets from an annual compliance to compliance over three years. This means car makers who miss 2025's targets will need to overperform in 2026 and 2027 to hit quotas.
It follows a number of European car makers backtracking on previous commitments to move electric-only line-ups within the decade as interest in EVs slows down on the continent.
As part of the changes, the targets won't change and will still need to be fulfilled, either through borrowing or banking.
In response, Volkswagen Group, Stellantis and Renault told Autocar that they back the changes, calling them an “important step forward”.
VW Group CEO Oliver Blume said: "We've had success with our EVs - the order intake for the ID 7 is on the level of the Passat. We've had a better than expected share of EV sales in the fourth quater, but with the targets tightening we'd expect to not hit our target for 2025.
"Having the three year window to hit the targets gives us flexibility: it doesn't absolve us because if we don't hit the target in 2025 we have to overperform in 2026 and 2027 to make up, but we should be able to do that with the ID 2 and ID 1 incoming. The new rules just give us more breathing space, which will help avoid fines."
Stellantis stated: “The flexibility introduced regarding CO2 targets, with an extended compliance period, is a meaningful first step in the right direction to preserve the competitiveness of our sector while remaining faithful to the targets and committed to electrification.
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