Cars, Strategic Dialogue resumes. Industry alarm: '350,000 jobs at risk'.
Third stage of the round table between the Commission and industry - CO2 targets and flexibility discussed, Von der Leyen opens up to the city car Made in Europe
2' min read
2' min read
The Strategic Dialogue between the European Commission and the automotive industry is resumed, calling for a review of the CO2 emission targets and pointing to the urgent need for a system that makes the decarbonisation process flexible. Specifically, the industry calls for a review of the stop on endothermic engines by 2035 and the possibility of continuing to offer the market hybrid engines and low-carbon fuels.
"The targets set by the EU on emissions are frankly unachievable," reiterated Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa as a guest at the Kepler Cheuvreux Autumn Conference in Paris. Filosa linked the decline of the car industry in Europe - the market has lost three million registrations in less than five years - to over-rigid European regulations. And he described the revision of the targets and the introduction of flexibility elements in the regulation as urgent.
The one scheduled for 12 September is the third stage of the Strategic Dialogue that began in January, and President Von der Leyen's latest statements seem to indicate an openness to various issues raised by the industry. The Commission President, in her State of the Union address, spoke of the sector as a 'pillar of our economy and industry, a source of pride for Europe'.
On the substance, Von der Leyen speaks of flexibility granted with reference to the extension, on a three-year basis, of the manufacturers' emission monitoring period with a view to the calculation of fines by the EU - "It is working," she says. As for technology neutrality, 'we are preparing the review,' she explains. Another central theme, which Stellantis chairman John Elkann and former Renault number one Luca de Meo spoke about months ago, is that of support, from an industrial and regulatory point of view, for the production of city cars in Europe. 'Millions of Europeans want to buy European cars at reasonable prices,' says Von der Leyen, who opens up to collaboration with industry on this front.
Against this backdrop, there is still a heavy crisis in the sector, which has not recovered - unique among global market areas - its 2019 volumes and risks losing further ground under the blows of Chinese competition and tariffs imposed by the US administration. A new study by Roland Berger, commissioned by Clepa, the European association of automotive suppliers, warns of the risks to the sector's resilience and estimates a potential loss of up to 350,000 jobs.
