T + T – Normal size
European automakers have asked the European Union to delay by two years the implementation of its tougher carbon emissions rules, due to take effect in 2025, according to a document seen by Bloomberg and Le Monde. The companies declined to comment.
The French newspaper reported in its Saturday issue that the unsigned document was issued by Renault and its president, Luca de Meo, who also heads the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA).
According to the newspaper, the document calls for “postponing the tightening of the standard known as corporate average fuel economy (CAFE)”, which sets an average rate of carbon dioxide emissions for the total number of cars sold, under penalty of a fine for the manufacturer.
To achieve this, the document proposed “resorting to a little-known arrangement, Article 122.1 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union”, which allows for an emergency deferral of the application of certain rules without having to go through the European Parliament in Strasbourg, according to Le Monde.
To achieve the new levels, manufacturers would have to sell one electric car for every four fuel-powered cars (25 percent) to offset the excess emissions that contribute to global warming.
But the European electric vehicle market “has been stagnating for more than a year, at less than 15 percent for private cars and 7 percent for commercial vehicles,” according to the note published by Le Monde.
The memo warned that “fines could reach 13 billion euros for private cars and three billion for commercial vehicles.”
The memo presented three possible proposals.
The first involves cutting production of petrol cars by more than 2 million units and trucks by more than 700,000 units, but that is “equivalent to (the production capacity of) more than eight European factories,” with the job losses that would entail.
The second is based on “agreeing with American or Chinese manufacturers to buy back carbon credits,” but that would require government support for non-European competitors and “would not be enough” in any case.
The third proposed path is based on “countries increasing the amount of support for purchasing electric cars, knowing that they are doing the opposite, or even manufacturers lowering prices so that electric cars achieve a market share of 22%.”
In response to a query from Agence France-Presse, the association did not confirm the authenticity of the memo, and merely referred to a statement it issued on Thursday expressing its “growing concern” about the sector’s ability to comply with the new standards.
