Will Von der Leyen stand up to manufacturers on the end of the internal combustion engine?
The President of the European Commission is due to meet with car manufacturers on Friday, September 12, who are calling for a more flexible timetable for the transition to all-electric power, which is scheduled to be completed by 2035. Handelsblatt has been able to consult a strategic document and states that Europe is "maintaining its position."
Don't give in to pressure. This Friday, September 12, the President of the European Commission will hold the third "summit meeting in Brussels" since the beginning of the year with the main players in the automotive industry – manufacturers and suppliers – explains Handelsblatt . The German business daily already has an idea of how the meeting will unfold: "The European Commission wants to maintain the ban on combustion engines for cars."
In a "strategic document" seen by the newspaper, the European Union (EU) executive "defines its position" and believes that achieving the objective of "100% clean mobility" by 2035 remains achievable, provided that "resolute and coordinated measures" are taken.
Faced with the challenges of electrification, tensions over customs duties, and competition from China, which is flooding the market with its cheap electric cars, the automotive sector is pushing for the EU to revise its roadmap. This week, the manufacturers “clearly expressed their views at the Munich International Motor Show,” calling on the EU to relax the timetable.
Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume "certainly sees electric mobility as a technology of the future, but," he explained, "Europe must not 'put obstacles in its own way' ." Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius, along the same lines, said he was "opposed to a deadline for the combustion engine." They received support from the German Chancellor, who was visiting the southern German automotive trade fair. Friedrich Merz (CDU, right) called for "more flexibility in the regulations."
According to the Commission's roadmap, the market share of electric cars was 17% in the first half of 2025, a sign that Europe can achieve the 2035 target. The document acknowledges that the "structurally very difficult" situation in the automotive industry, however, requires "faster and bolder measures." Already in the spring, the Commission had "made a gesture towards manufacturers" by granting them an extension of time for CO2 emissions targets.
In her State of the Union address on Wednesday, September 10, Ursula von der Leyen raised the possibility of similarly relaxing the phasing for 2035, “while respecting the principle of carbon neutrality,” she said. She added: “Whatever happens, the future is electric.”
Courrier International
