Rejecting the EU plans for a de facto ban on the sale of new ICE cars by 2035 in Europe seriously weakens the bloc’s ambition to achieve the electrification of their car parc. Perhaps worried about grey imports, the minister alluded to other countries enabling manufacturers would take advantage of the continued demand and fill the gap of these car sales.
Christian Linder told a conference Tuesday night that removing ICE cars would be “the wrong decision” and that Germany would not agree to a ban on combustion engines.
Although push back against the ambition to cut carbon emissions from cars by 100% from their 2021 levels has also included Italy, it has been restricted to their car market, Ferrari. There is sympathy within industry for both Germany and Italy, especially given that ICE cars are now reaching remarkable levels of incredibly clean combustion, but the Green parties in all countries are against the argument.
Some parties in Germany, at the time of writing, are yet to comment on their Finance minister’s statement, but the Green environment minister, Steffi Lemke, told the DPA news agency yesterday that the German government “fully supports the proposal by the Commission and the European Parliament to allow new passenger cars and light commercial vehicles with zero-emission powertrains from 2035”.
Within the European auto lobby in Brussels there is further unrest. Stellantis, openly critical of the speed at which regulators are forcing carmakers to electrify their models, has left to start their own campaigning organization, the Freedom of Mobility Forum, days after the parliamentary vote. As the fourth-largest car manufacturer, the intention was summed up in a statement by CEO, Carlos Tavares, “The environmental challenges ahead of us coupled with a rapidly evolving business environment require an efficient, global and inclusive 360-degree approach involving all those who wish to contribute to building sustainable mobility”. With Volkswagen prolonging coal power at its Wolfburg plant due to concerns of the effect of continued tensions between Europe and Russia, creating fertile ground for the forum to gain a substantial new member.
The UK administration has at times been unpredictable, the position following Brexit and formation of the new forum may incite interest from British motorists regarding the validity of the 2030 ambition, affordable private transport is critical to economic and social well being the lack of clear planning from Westminster is not reassuring to those trying to meet the challenge such a huge societal change.
If cheaper ICE vehicles are still easily purchased in the EU, will there be a surge of grey imports into the UK?