The challenges of such mandates for the industry have been clear: car makers are essentially being asked to sell EVs at a volume for which there currently isn’t the public demand, while also having to nearly double their line-ups and development costs to continue a parallel line of ICE cars for markets that don’t have such mandates in place.
But in recent months, it feels like something has changed, and it was in evidence talking to a number of industry CEOs at the Munich motor show recently. The European car firms seemed to have their swagger back – and were out to take on the law makers.
The BMW Group’s Oliver Zipse, Stellantis’s Jean-Philippe Imparato, the Renault Group’s François Provost and the Volkswagen Group’s Oliver Blume were among the bosses who spoke out forcefully and eloquently against the EU’s 2035 ban. They argued for broader ways of promoting CO2 reduction, systems less focused on what a car produces at the tailpipe and more on lifetime emissions. They pushed for the freedom to develop technologies that could prove an alternative for EVs, such as e-fuels. And they did it all while insisting that they just wanted to give car buyers what they wanted.
It seemed to be an organised, concerted pushback from an industry that sensed an opportunity. The public villains of Dieselgate, the ‘evil’ companies that needed to be controlled, were trying to seize the moment to position themselves as a force for good in the face of rising public resistance to EVs. A significant chunk of the public just want simple, affordable cars; the car industry wants to offer them. And, their argument goes, they could – if legislators would let them.
The early signs have been positive for the industry. Following various talks, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has indicated support for a new ‘E-car’ class for small, European city cars enabled by less onerous legislations – even if she did say that EVs remain the ultimate goal.
Of course, there is some irony that this industry pushback comes as European firms are finally beginning to launch desirable and relatively affordable EVs, which arguably wouldn’t have arrived so quickly without the strong regulatory push set by those 2035 targets.
