The European auto industry warns the EU against a tightening of climate protection accompanied by insufficient infrastructure investments.

For every further percentage point of the tightening of the target, at least 200,000 additional public charging points for electric vehicles are required - beyond the three million required in 2030, "said BMW boss and president of the European car manufacturers' association Acea, Oliver Zipse, of the German press agency in Brussels.

According to calculations by the EU Commission, for example, a further reduction in CO2 emissions of minus 50 percent by 2030 would require around six million public charging points. "With fewer than 225,000 units today, that should correspond to an increase by a factor of 27 in less than ten years," said Zipse.

The BMW boss expressed himself shortly before the presentation expected on Wednesday of proposals that should make it possible to achieve the EU interim target for climate protection. Specifically, it provides for the emission of greenhouse gases to be reduced by at least 55 percent below the 1990 level by 2030 - instead of the 40 percent previously planned. It is therefore certain that the requirements for the automotive industry will also be tightened. So far it has been the case that the CO2 emissions of new cars in 2030 will have to be 37.5 percent lower on average than in 2021. It is now expected that the EU Commission will propose to raise this target to 50 to 60 percent.

Zipse said that it is now a question of not only formulating ambitious climate protection goals, but also creating a decisive basis for achieving them with binding specifications for more charging infrastructure.