European carmakers risk fines of 15 billion euros if they do not comply with EU rules on carbon emissions, warned Renault Group boss Luca de Meo on Saturday 7 September. The problem is that sales of electric cars are slowing down on the old continent.
To meet the CO2 emissions standards calculated on average for all cars sold, manufacturers will have to reduce their production by “more than 2.5 million vehicles” to avoid being penalised, warned Luca de Meo, who is also president of the Association of European Manufacturers (ACEA). The reason: one electric vehicle can offset four combustion cars.
“According to our calculations, if electricity prices remain at their current level, European industry will probably have to pay 15 billion euros in fines or forego production of more than 2.5 million units,” he explained.
“We need some flexibility,” he pleaded. “Simply setting deadlines and fines without having the possibility of making them more flexible is very dangerous.”
Electric car sales are falling
In August, electric vehicles accounted for just 12.5% of the European car market, with sales down 10.8% year-on-year. The Renault executive also stressed the importance of the electric market for European industrial battery manufacturing projects.
“If electric cars don’t sell, these projects will struggle,” he warned.
To explain the lack of vigour in the market, Luca de Meo cited the still high prices, but also the too slow installation of charging stations and the “uncertainty” about purchase subsidies, removed, for example, last December in Germany, leading to a drastic drop in sales.
Regarding these subsidies, “we need stability, visibility” and “a certain coherence,” said the Renault boss, while the French budget for 2025 could be cut.
Symbol of the crisis facing the European car industry, which is under strong pressure from Chinese competition, the largest European manufacturer, Volkswagen, has announced that it is preparing an unprecedented savings plan that could lead to the closure of factories in Germany.
A stroke of luck that should save Renault, which has already made savings, says Luca de Meo: “A few years ago we had to apply a very strict regime” by reducing production capacity “by more than a million vehicles”, but “the context is very, very complicated.”
Source: BFM TV
