3/3/2025 |Articles are machine translated
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at a press conference following the next round of the Strategic Dialogue with the automotive industry on 3 March 2025. | Photo: Wiktor Dabkowski/ZUMA Press Wire)
The Automotive Industry Association welcomes the discussion on a more pragmatic approach to decarbonisation and appreciates the recognition of the urgent need to address the senseless penalties for the impending failure to meet the 2025 and 2026 targets, but also points to the need for a more systematic and longer transition period to meet the CO₂ targets.
“We welcome the open dialogue and the fact that the European Commission has understood the urgency of CO₂ regulation for 2025. The proposed solution of averaging the target period to three years is a step in the right direction, but a three-year period for meeting the targets is insufficient. From the beginning, we have been advocating for this horizon to be extended to five years, which would give the industry more certainty and stability,” says Zdeněk Petzl, Executive Director of the Automotive Industry Association.
A system of averaging CO₂ emissions over a longer timeframe was proposed by the Automotive Industry Association and Czech government officials, including Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Transport Minister Martin Kupka, as early as November/December 2024. Our analysis and market forecasts show that three years is not enough, and that continuing to set CO2 targets in this way would lead to billions of euros in fines. That is why the Czech Republic has been advocating from the outset for an extension of this period to five years, which we have repeatedly emphasised on behalf of the Automotive Industry Association, including in the thematic group meeting with the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy, Stéphane Séjourné.
We welcome the fact that, in addition to emissions, the strategic dialogue also focuses on other equally important areas – batteries, autonomous mobility and conditions for heavy transport and buses.
“Support for the European battery supply chain and autonomous mobility is a positive signal. It is also essential to ensure adequate conditions for heavy transport and buses. These sectors face specific challenges that have not yet found due recognition in EU legislative plans,” adds Marco Boggian, Head of Regulatory Affairs at the Automotive Industry Association.
We also see significant progress in the other priority themes of the Strategic Dialogue, which can significantly help our industry in this challenging period. We will comment on these after the publication and thorough study of the official Automotive Action Plan, which we expect on 5 March. However, we firmly believe that it will reflect as many of our priorities as possible, which we have actively communicated to the European Commission.
AutoSAP’s key priorities for the future of the European automotive industry are therefore:
We appreciate the joint efforts of the European Commission and key players in the European policy arena to find pragmatic solutions for the automotive industry. We believe that the Automotive Action Plan will reflect our priorities and we look forward to working with the European institutions to implement it. We are ready to continue to actively contribute to the development of the sustainability and competitiveness of the automotive industry in Europe.
