European parliament proposals to cut CO2 emissions by 20 per cent by 2025 and 35 per cent by 2030 have “alarmed” the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association which described the targets as “excessively aggressive”.
“These targets go over and above the proposal made by the European Commission last May, which was already very challenging,” said Erik Jonnaert, ACEA secretary general.
It is particularly concerned that the 2025 target would force truck makers to fit new technologies to vehicle that are already being developed. Jonnaert said: “The R&D and production processes of the European truck industry would be negatively affected by these targets, for which the short lead time simply doesn’t match the long development cycles for trucks.”
The association welcomed in principle the European Commission’s proposal to incentivise zero- and low-emissions trucks via ‘super-credits’. However, MEPs voted to set a benchmark system instead, which would include a ‘malus’ to penalise manufacturers who do not sell a mandatory quota of zero- and low-emissions trucks.
Jonnaert said: “MEPs seem to be blatantly ignoring the fact that the potential for electrifying the truck fleet is far lower than for cars, due to issues such as extremely high upfront costs, range limitations, insufficient infrastructure – particularly along motorways – as well as reluctant customers.”
