The main associations of European car manufacturers and suppliers—the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) and the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA)—have sent a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, calling for a shift in EU policies affecting the sector’s transition. While they emphasize their commitment to the 2050 climate neutrality goals and note that they have invested over €250 billion in launching electric vehicles by 2030, they criticize the lack of a comprehensive and realistic strategy that ensures the industry’s competitiveness amid geopolitical tensions and high production costs.

In the letter, manufacturers warn that electrification is progressing too slowly: electric cars account for only 15% of EU sales, vans 9%, and trucks 3.5%. Key obstacles include Europe’s near-total dependence on Asia for the battery value chain, uneven deployment of charging infrastructure, high electricity prices, and tariffs from key trading partners, such as the 15% duty the United States applies to European vehicles.

In this context, the industry calls on Brussels to:

• Implement more ambitious demand-side incentives, including purchase subsidies, tax reductions, lower charging costs, and preferential urban access.
• Reassess the CO2 reduction targets for 2030 and 2035, which they consider unattainable under current conditions.
• Promote technology neutrality, allowing plug-in hybrids, hydrogen, decarbonized fuels, and highly efficient combustion engines to contribute to decarbonization.
• Recognize the efforts already made to reduce emissions in vehicle and component manufacturing.
• Urgently review regulations for trucks and buses, without waiting until 2027.
• Adopt policies that strengthen industrial competitiveness, protect European production, and secure access to critical raw materials.
• Reduce bureaucracy and simplify regulations.

The sector emphasizes that achieving climate goals requires pragmatism and flexibility, and cannot rely solely on penalties and legal mandates. They warn that if the EU strategy is not adapted to the current economic and geopolitical realities, the bloc risks undermining one of its most globally competitive industrial pillars.