Brussels proposed on Wednesday to reduce CO² emissions from new cars in the European Union to zero from 2035, which would de facto stop sales of gasoline and diesel vehicles on that date in favor of 100% electric engines. .

Brussels proposed on Wednesday to reduce CO² emissions from new cars in the EU to zero from 2035, which would de facto stop sales of gasoline and diesel vehicles on that date in favor of 100% electric engines.

The measure should help meet the EU's climate targets, but "it will also benefit citizens by reducing energy costs and improving air quality," the Commission explained.

The automotive industry is however worried about a lack of charging stations and an industrial transformation that could cause a haemorrhage of jobs.

Even if it is already engaged in the transition.

Emissions of CO2 must have a price.

And we know that carbon pricing works.

⁰


We will strengthen the Emissions Trading System in industry and power generation.

⁰


Make ETS applicable to aviation, extend it to maritime.



And build a second ETS on buildings and road transport.

pic.twitter.com/j01JrUfnWL

- Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) July 14, 2021

"It will be damn difficult"

"A dozen major manufacturers in Germany and in Europe have already announced a transformation of their fleets towards exclusively zero-emission vehicles between 2028 and 2035", underlined the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

The draft legislation, if adopted as it stands, would mean the end in 2035 of sales of vehicles with thermal engines, including hybrids (gasoline-electric) and plug-in hybrids.

Battery electric vehicles being the only ones to meet the zero emission requirement, they would de facto become the only ones on the new European market, even if no technology will be officially imposed.

But the Commission's proposal will still be discussed for more than a year by the European Parliament and Member States, which could lead to significant adjustments.

"Nothing that has been presented today will be easy, it will even be damn difficult", admitted, the European Commissioner for the Environment, Frans Timmermans, invoking the need to act in the interest of future generations.

The car, the first mode of travel for Europeans, represents around 15% of CO2 emissions, one of the primary gases responsible for global warming.

"Charging points every 60 km"

A standoff between the main producing countries (Germany, France, Spain, Italy) and those without national manufacturers such as Austria, Denmark or the Netherlands.

France has already indicated that it wants to defend the survival of hybrids after 2035.

At the same time, the European executive is committed to strongly developing recharging stations.

"Along the main roads in Europe, there must be charging points every 60 kilometers," promised the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

At the end of last year, the EU counted 260,000 publicly accessible charging points among its 27 member states, 70% of which in just three countries (Germany, France, the Netherlands).

It promises 1 million in 2025, 3.5 million in 2030 and 16.3 million in 2050.

Europe had already imposed an average ceiling of 95 grams of CO² per kilometer on car manufacturers as early as 2020, which was to be further reduced by 15% in 2025 and by 37.5% in 2030.

Finally, this reduction will be reinforced to reach 55% in 2030, then 100% in 2035, according to the Brussels proposal.

These figures would represent an immense constraint for an industry which will also have to count by 2027 on the tightening of the pollution standards imposed on thermal engines.

+ 9.3% of new registrations between April and June

The existing standards have already produced effects, manufacturers having been forced to invest tens of billions of euros in the electrification of their range. 

In a globally declining market due to the Covid-19 pandemic, 100% electric cars have made strong progress.

Between April and June, they represented 9.3% of new registrations in Western Europe, a share more than fourfold in two years, according to analyst Matthias Schmidt. 

The Commission's project has delighted conservationists.

"This is a turning point for the automotive industry and good news for drivers," said the executive director of the NGO Transport & Environment, William Todts.

According to him, "the new EU rules democratize electric cars and give a major boost to charging, which means that clean cars will soon be affordable and easy to charge for millions of Europeans".