In 2015, the European Union, after extensive negotiations with manufacturers selling their vehicles in Europe, reached an agreement on the electrification schedule of the automobile market, in order to reduce CO emissions.2. In 2020 the limit would be 95g/km (in NEDC, a value that actually corresponded to 116g in the most modern and close to reality WLTP system), and in 2025 it would drop to 96g of CO.2 (already on WLTP). The objective is to continue evolving until reaching 0g of CO2 in 2035, which will mean the end of the commercialization of combustion engines, whether gasoline, diesel or LPG, hybrid or not. Now there are brands, such as BMW, that demand that the agreed objectives be deviated, while other manufacturers, who invested heavily to be able to reduce emissions, defend compliance with what was defined 10 years ago.
To the builders who fight over emissions limits, the general director of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares, responded with a rational speech, but one that many may consider “murderous” in its content. In one fell swoop he stated that Stellantis, which has invested an average of €14 billion a year in electric vehicles, wants to be on the right side of history.” regarding the ban on combustion engines in 2035, move forward despite the fact that “Those who ask that the legislation be delayed do so because they do not see climate change as a major problem”. It now turns out that few developers (and their shareholders) will be happy to be accused of being on the wrong side of history or choosing to pursue profits at the expense of the climate and the well-being of the population.
‘No longer realistic’ to end gasoline cars by 2035, says BMW president
This week Oliver Zipse, The CEO of BMW came out to publicly defend that “it is no longer realistic to end gasoline cars in 2035”stating that brands cannot sell more electric vehicles and threatening a sharp reduction in production. This is because, to respect the CO limits2 As agreed, they will only be able to sell combustion cars if they sell the necessary volume of 100% battery-powered models, to reach an average of less than 96 g. Or they risk paying million-dollar fines for non-compliance and, alternatively, they can buy carbon credits from manufacturers that sell exclusively (or mainly) electric cars.
Instead of these expensive solutions, German manufacturers saw that the German Government (of the largest European market) was “doing them a favor” by eliminating, at the beginning of 2024, incentives for electric vehicles, largely responsible for the reduction in sales, while still maintaining aid for plug-in hybrids, in which all local brands have invested, because it allows them to avoid large investments (in specific platform factories for trams and their batteries) and thus maximize short-term benefits .
In addition to the end of combustion engine sales in 2035, which the BMW CEO mentioned, as well as the difficulty in meeting the targets set for 2025, which Zipse only addressed by threatening a reduction in production, The German manufacturers, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche, still face another problem: in January 2027, the way they calculate the consumption and emissions of plug-in hybrids, on which they depend so much, will change.. And it is expected that the values will multiply approximately, going from average consumption of 1 liter to 5 l/100 km, with CO emissions2 going from 15g to 75g of CO2/km, which will make this type of mechanics very uninteresting by 2030.
Source: Observadora
