CO2 targets and EU-wide infrastructure roll-out high on agenda of re-elected ACEA President

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) has re-elected Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW Group, to hold the position of ACEA President for a second term in 2022.

“The EU auto industry is a global technology leader that utilises its innovative capacity to deliver solutions to tackle climate change. We are convinced that sustainability and global competitiveness can go hand-in-hand – and even strengthen each other – if both are driven by technological innovation,” stated Mr Zipse.

“We are therefore looking forward to next year, when the EU will define fundamental legislation that will shape the future of our industry.”

Many crucial pieces of climate legislation were already put forward by the European Commission earlier this year. These include a review of the Regulation setting CO2 targets for cars and vans, and the proposal for an Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR), which introduces binding deployment targets for charging and refuelling infrastructure in all member states. Next year, the Commission will also propose new CO2 standards for heavy-duty vehicles.

“When setting AFIR and CO2 fleet targets in 2022, national governments and Members of the European Parliament will take fundamental and far-reaching decisions for the transition to climate-neutral mobility,” Mr Zipse continued.

“As an industry, we have the right vehicle technology readily available. However, making sure that enough Europeans buy these vehicles over the coming years largely depends on how quickly and widely infrastructure is rolled out across the entire EU. We call on the Council and the Parliament to ensure that the AFIR targets are ambitious and robust enough to enable future CO2 targets to be met in practice.”

The auto industry is currently facing historic challenges due to global supply chain shortages, particularly the lack of sufficient microchips. As a result of this disruption, coming on the back of the COVID crisis, EU car production stood at 3 million units less than 2019 pre-pandemic volumes in the first nine months of this year.

In October, new car sales dropped by 30% compared to 2020, marking the fourth consecutive month of decline. Zipse: “For the sake of our industry’s global competitiveness, Europe must strengthen its technological sovereignty to be able to provide essential components to the region’s core industries.”

Mr Zipse was appointed President of ACEA yesterday during a meeting of its Board of Directors, which is composed of the CEOs of Europe’s 16 major car, van, truck and bus manufacturers. ACEA’s President is elected by its members annually for a year-long term, which can be renewed once.