{"id":3893,"date":"2026-04-15T03:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T03:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/?p=3893"},"modified":"2026-04-17T20:32:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T20:32:32","slug":"leaked-car-industrys-latest-demands-could-cost-eu-extra-e74bn-in-oil-imports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/?p=3893","title":{"rendered":"Leaked: Car Industry\u2019s Latest Demands Could Cost EU Extra \u20ac74bn in Oil Imports"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Support CleanTechnica’s work through a Substack subscription<\/a> or on Stripe<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

ACEA document told Environment Ministers to slash car CO2 targets, depriving motorists of more affordable EV models.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The European car industry\u2019s latest demands for weaker climate targets could result in an extra \u20ac74bn of oil imports \u2014 just as interest in buying EVs reaches new peaks. That\u2019s according to T&E analysis of a leaked position paper<\/a>\u00a0issued by lobby group ACEA to Environment Ministers in March. T&E said the irresponsible proposal would delay the rollout of more affordable EV models at a time of high petrol prices and drastically increase oil dependency compared to the current EU car CO2<\/sub>\u00a0targets.<\/p>\n

The ACEA paper calls for the averaging of carmakers\u2019 2030 EU CO2<\/sub> targets over five years \u2014 a significant weakening compared to the EU Commission\u2019s proposal to average over three years. It also calls for the cancellation of the new utility factor that more accurately counts plug-in hybrid vehicles\u2019 (PHEV) emissions. The German government yesterday adopted ACEA\u2019s position of prolonging sales of polluting PHEVs, a move which \u2014 if implemented \u2014 would only delay the EU car industry\u2019s transition to fully electric cars and widen the gap with China.<\/p>\n

If ACEA\u2019s demands are accepted, it would allow carmakers to sell far fewer battery electric vehicles (BEV) and far more polluting combustion engines than under the current target. T&E calculates it could lead to BEV sales flatlining at their\u00a0current 21%<\/a> market share for the rest of the decade \u2014 instead of 57% in 2030 required by the current law.<\/p>\n

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\u00c9milie Casteignau Bernardini, vehicles policy manager at T&E, said:\u00a0\u201cCarmakers are fuelling Europe\u2019s oil dependency at a time when many Europeans are paying \u20ac2 a litre for petrol. While drivers are struggling to fill their tanks, ACEA wants to delay the supply of more affordable EVs that people want. It\u2019s disappointing to see the German government give in to the car industry\u2019s lobbying to slow down electrification. The future is electric, and delaying that will hurt citizens and Europe\u2019s competitiveness.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

In December, the EU Commission\u00a0proposed<\/a>\u00a0weakening carmakers\u2019 2035 target from a 100% reduction in CO2<\/sub>\u00a0to -90%. ACEA is demanding the target be weakened further to -80% by awarding 10% worth of credits to carmakers without conditions, and a further 5% for fuels that emit less than petrol, and 5% for low-carbon materials. T&E calculates these could result in BEV sales accounting for just 52% of the market, instead of 100%, in 2035. The fuel credits would allow carmakers to sell fewer EVs in return for non-existent emissions savings.<\/p>\n

The ACEA proposal could cost the EU \u20ac74bn extra in oil imports between 2026\u20132035 by slashing the amount of crude oil that would be displaced by BEVs under the current law. It could increase CO\u2082 emissions from European cars by up to 2.4 GtCO\u2082 between 2026\u20132050 compared to the current regulation. This equates to over five years of emissions from today\u2019s EU car fleet.<\/p>\n

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T&E called on EU lawmakers to maintain the current car CO2<\/sub>\u00a0targets and strengthen demand for EVs by supporting an ambitious Clean Corporate Fleets law. The draft fleets law, and the proposed revision of the car CO2<\/sub>\u00a0targets, are currently being debated by the European Parliament and EU governments.<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

T&E analysed the demands contained in ACEA\u2019s paper. The analysis is based on high exploitation of each flexibility.<\/p>\n

Methodology:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The following flexibilities have been modelled based on the ACEA proposal:<\/p>\n