E-Mobility Europe has called on EU leaders to maintain the market pull of agreed 2025 CO2 limits, while supporting European companies with compliance through “much stronger smart action” to boost electric vehicle (EV) demand.
The association for Europe’s EV ecosystem has released new research with New Automotive that reveals the EU’s CO2 limits for 2025 will lead to 450,000 more EVs on the road by the end of this year, taking total EV sales to 2.4 million for the full year – compared with a scenario where targets were relaxed.
As a result, it said this was “an important step to keep Europe on track to its 2035 and 2040 CO2 limits for cars, vans, and trucks”.
Achieving the limits, which were previously agreed by all EU governments in 2019, could result in fuel savings of an additional €270 million, taking total fuel cost savings from all new EVs in 2025 to €1.4 billion, directly benefitting European vehicle owners. It also would save 530,000 million tonnes of CO2 in the EU – equivalent to 1.3 times the emissions of Poland.
After a stagnating 2024 including Germany’s removal of subsidies, European automakers are increasing EV production ahead of 2025 CO2 limits, including seven new models being introduced under €25,000. This creates an opportunity for industries and governments to align together on supporting consumer uptake, it said.
Maintaining the EU limits also strengthens market certainty, helping the EU charging industry to hit its target of 13 million charging points by the end of this year, and reconfirming demand prospects for struggling European battery investments.
However, concerns over European market conditions have led to calls from several member state governments for theoretical future fines to be pre-emptively cancelled.
The European Commission has last week committed to investigate “possible flexibilities” to keep industry competitive.
Chris Heron, Secretary General, E-Mobility Europe, said:
“It’s critical that Europe’s 2025 CO2 limits remain in place to help pull electric vehicle sales upwards. They are necessary to keep a level playing field and to drive ecosystem investment in the face of intense global competition. If the European Commission does investigate flexibilities, it must tread very carefully to keep healthy pressure on the 2025 market“.
“But governments must also take more responsibility to support carmakers in achieving compliance, through smarter and more stable incentive policies. Let’s unite on making 2025 a success and not backtrack before we get started.”
Ben Nelmes, CEO of New AutoMotive, said:
“The research released today recommends that the EU and national governments first act to boost market demand in support of automaker efforts, considering remedial action only once seeing if the 2025 limits have been reached.”
“While we welcome that the European Commission is evaluating whether EU-level incentives can be set-up to stimulate electric car sales across the region, it’s vital all Member States accept their responsibility too, improving electric vehicle attractiveness for consumers through stable policies that don’t break the bank.
“Electrification of the vehicle parc in Europe will improve air quality, ensure greater freedom from fossil fuel volatility, and reduce driving costs for all. Governments across the EU agreed to the 2035 goals two years ago. That was the easy part: now we must put the policies in place to make it happen, both to reduce the impact of climate change and to ensure that Europe is not left behind countries like China in the transition to an electrified economy.”
Image courtesy of E-Mobility Europe
