Leaked: Car Industry’s Latest Demands Could Cost EU Extra €74 Billion In Oil Imports

The European car industry, represented by the lobby group ACEA, has proposed significantly weakening the EU’s climate targets for vehicle emissions, a move that could increase the continent’s oil imports by €74 billion over the next decade. According to an analysis by Transport & Environment (T&E) based on a leaked ACEA position paper, these demands would delay the rollout of more affordable electric vehicles (EVs) at a time when consumer interest in EVs is surging and petrol prices remain high. The proposal includes extending the averaging period for carmakers’ 2030 CO2 targets from three to five years and scrapping new rules that more accurately measure plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) emissions, effectively allowing more polluting vehicles on the road. The ACEA’s demands would substantially alter the trajectory of the EU’s automotive transition by permitting manufacturers to sell fewer battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and more combustion engine cars than currently mandated. T&E’s modelling suggests that BEV market share would stagnate at around 21% through the 2030s, far below the 57% target set by existing legislation. The German government has already endorsed ACEA’s stance on prolonging PHEV sales, a decision criticised for potentially delaying Europe’s shift to fully electric vehicles and allowing the continent to fall behind competitors like China in the clean mobility race. Émilie Casteignau Bernardini, vehicles policy manager at T&E, condemned the industry’s lobbying efforts, highlighting the contradiction between rising fuel costs for consumers and the push to slow EV adoption. She warned that weakening CO2 targets would not only increase Europe’s oil dependency but also harm citizens and undermine the continent’s competitiveness in the global automotive market. The ACEA also seeks to dilute the 2035 emissions reduction target from a 100% cut to just 80%, introducing credit schemes that would allow carmakers to meet obligations without selling the necessary volume of zero-emission vehicles. The implications of accepting ACEA’s proposals are significant, with T&E estimating an increase in CO2 emissions from European cars by up to 2.4 billion tonnes between 2026 and 2050—equivalent to over five years of emissions from the current EU fleet. This would severely undermine the EU’s climate goals and increase reliance on imported crude oil, running counter to broader energy security and environmental objectives. T&E has urged EU lawmakers to uphold the current CO2 targets and strengthen policies that promote EV adoption, including support for the proposed Clean Corporate Fleets law, which is currently under discussion in the European Parliament and among member states.