The Swedish car manufacturer Volvo is withdrawing from the European lobby association Acea as a result of the controversy over an EU-wide ban on the sale of new cars with combustion engines.
"After careful consideration, we have come to the conclusion that Volvo Cars' sustainability strategy and ambitions at this point in time are not fully aligned with Acea's positioning and operations," the company said on Friday when asked by AFP.
Volvo will therefore leave at the end of the year.
Acea had actively and loudly opposed an EU decision to ban combustion engines from 2035.
The association said it was "premature to set a target for 2035" and also expressed concern that charging and refueling infrastructure for electric and hydrogen vehicles could keep up with such an ambitious plan.
Volvo has set itself the goal of only selling fully electric models by 2030.
The influential lobby association Acea unites the 16 largest car manufacturers with locations in Europe.
The second largest car company on the continent, the Stellantis group, which emerged from the merger of Peugeot/Citroën and Fiat/Chrysler, surprisingly announced a few days ago that it was leaving the association.