Zero-emission vehicles: European Commission ambitions far removed from today’s reality, says ACEA

Brussels, 10 December 2020 – The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) takes note of the EU’s Sustainable and Smart Mobility Package, published by the European Commission yesterday. One of the key pillars of this strategy is to boost the uptake of zero-emission vehicles, an objective fully shared by the EU auto industry, which dedicates much of its yearly €60.9 billion R&D budget to decarbonisation.

The Commission paper lays out a bold ambition to have at least 30 million zero-emission cars on the road across the European Union by 2030. “Unfortunately this vision is far removed from today’s reality,” cautioned ACEA Director General, Eric-Mark Huitema.

Indeed, new research by ACEA shows that of the 243 million passenger cars on EU roads last year, less than 615,000 cars were zero-emission vehicles (battery electric cars and fuel-cell electric ones combined). That is roughly 0.25% of the whole car fleet. “To meet the Commission’s objective, we would need to see an almost 50-fold increase in zero-emission cars in circulation on our roads in just 10 years,” Huitema explained.

Huitema: “Despite industry investments in such vehicles and their growing market share, not all the right conditions are in place to make such a massive leap.” As recognised by the Commission, an essential condition for zero-emission mobility is the widespread availability of charging and refuelling infrastructure, both for passenger cars and heavy-duty vehicles.

“The European Commission should match its level of ambition for rolling out infrastructure across the EU with its ambition for reducing CO2 emissions from vehicles. It is quite simple: the higher the climate targets become, the higher targets for charging points and refuelling stations should be. Unfortunately, we still see a mismatch between these two elements at EU level,” ACEA’s Director General warned.

When it comes to infrastructure, the Commission conservatively estimates that three million public charging points will be needed by 2030. Given that last year less than 200,000 charging points were in place across the EU, this would require the deployment of 15 times more infrastructure over the next 11 years according to a recent ACEA report.

ACEA members are therefore once again calling EU legislators to push national governments to invest in charging and refuelling infrastructure, as part of an urgent and critical review of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive (AFID).

“Experience has shown us that a voluntary approach to these infrastructure targets does not work,” stated Mr Huitema. “While some EU countries have been very active, others have done little or nothing. The AFID review really must include binding infrastructure targets for member states.”

Besides infrastructure, other instruments are also required to encourage consumers to switch to zero-emission mobility, such as more aggressive carbon pricing, the continuation of fleet renewal schemes, and supportive measures for up- and re-skilling workers to facilitate the transformation of the sector.

ACEA also points out that the average European car is almost 11 years old today. Indeed, as a result of decarbonisation, new cars will become more expensive for many Europeans at a time when they have less money to spend because of the economic impact of COVID-19. This risks not only affecting the affordability of mobility, but also driving up the average age of cars, thus slowing down fleet renewal.

While some EU countries have been very active, others have done little or nothing. The AFID review really must include binding infrastructure targets for member states.

Notes for editors

  • Infrastructure availability, EU27 + UK, 2019
    • Although the deployment of infrastructure has seen strong growth, the total number of charging points available across the EU (199,825) still falls far short of what is required.
    • Only 28,586 of those points are suitable for fast charging (≥22kW), while ‘normal’ points account for the vast majority. Just 1 in 7 points in the EU is a fast charger today.
    • Four countries covering 27% of the EU’s total surface area – the Netherlands, Germany, France and the UK – account for more than 75% of all charging points in the EU.
    • There are 137 hydrogen filling stations across 12 EU member states, but 16 countries do not have any at all.
  • ACEA’s 2020 progress report ‘Making the Transition to Zero-Emission Mobility’ can be found here: http://www.acea.auto/publications/making-the-transition-to-zero-emission-mobility-2020-progress-report/.

About ACEA

  • The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) represents the 14 major Europe-based car, van, truck and bus makers: BMW Group, DAF Trucks, Daimler Truck, Ferrari, Ford of Europe, Honda Motor Europe, Hyundai Motor Europe, Iveco Group, JLR, Mercedes-Benz, Renault Group, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group, and Volvo Group.
  • Visit www.acea.auto for more information about ACEA, and follow us on www.twitter.com/ACEA_auto or www.linkedin.com/company/ACEA/.

Contact:

  • Cara McLaughlin, Communications Director, cm@acea.auto, +32 485 88 66 47.
  • Ben Kennard, Content Editor and Press Manager, bk@acea.auto, +32 487 39 21 82

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About the EU automobile industry

  • 13.0 million Europeans work in the automotive sector
  • 11.5% of all manufacturing jobs in the EU
  • €374.6 billion in tax revenue for European governments
  • €101.9 billion trade surplus for the European Union
  • Over 7% of EU GDP generated by the auto industry
  • €59.1 billion in R&D spending annually, 31% of EU total
Content type Press release
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