Don't punish car producers

The EPP Group welcomes the European Parliament's decision to fast-track key legislative reform, easing CO2 compliance rules for car manufacturers. The new rules will calculate compliance with emissions targets from 2025 onwards based on a three-year average, instead of a single year's performance. 

“The fast-track procedure to avoid fines for struggling car manufacturers is proof that the EPP Group is delivering. We have listened to the automotive industry and taken action. We are now giving the car manufacturers the flexibility and time they desperately need. Many manufacturers have invested heavily in electrification, but sales of electric cars have been much lower than expected, and they should not be penalised for this. The choice of what kind of car to buy remains that of the customer. Averaging compliance will give the industry the relief it needs,"  says Jens Gieseke MEP, EPP Group Spokesman on the automotive industry.

This approach ensures that the industry can adapt to challenging circumstances while still meeting its climate obligations. 

"We adopted his proposal under the urgency procedure to avoid penalising companies in these difficult times. This would have put even more pressure on the automotive industry and, in particular, the suppliers and therefore also endangered jobs in a difficult economic situation. It would not have been right for money to flow from European manufacturers to Chinese manufacturers or Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla. The climate targets must remain. The companies can only avoid fines if they overcompensate for the targets they do not achieve in 2025 in 2026 and 2027. The total tonnes of CO2 saved will thus remain the same," says MEP Peter Liese, EPP Group spokesman on Environment.

This reform aligns with the EPP Group’s position paper, which details a plan to save the European automotive industry. It is a crucial step in safeguarding the competitiveness of Europe's car manufacturers, protecting hundreds of thousands of jobs, and preserving a sector that is essential to the EU's economic prosperity.