BRUSSELS, 4 OCT – The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) does not plan to bring back the internal combustion engine in the future, said ACEA Director General, Sigrid de Vries, to the German news agency (dpa) yesterday.
In fact, despite the political controversy in Germany, de Vries believes that the proposal to bring back the internal combustion engine is now “the wrong question to focus on.”
According to current law, no new cars with internal combustion engines will be allowed to be registered in the European Union (EU) from 2035 – with very few exceptions, such as emergency vehicles.
In Germany’s coalition government, the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) is campaigning for internal combustion engine cars to be allowed in the future if they use climate-neutral synthetic fuel (e-fuel).
The centre-right Christian Social Union (CSU) party, meanwhile, is calling for internal combustion engines to continue to be allowed at EU regulatory level.
Even if the laws remain the same, de Vries believes that the internal combustion engine will still be used around the world “because it’s a great technology.”
“I think the challenge for Europe is to maintain interest in this,” said de Vries, emphasizing the potential to improve fuel economy and environmental standards.
The scrapping of Federal Government subsidies in Germany last year caused demand for battery-powered electric vehicles to plummet, prompting warnings of job losses as manufacturing plants are underutilized.
There is also the threat of heavy fines in Europe for car manufacturers due to stricter EU fleet targets for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions coming from 2025.
The German car industry has called for the upcoming tightening of fleet targets to be reviewed.
De Vries said the EU was in an “existential situation,” and called for closer cooperation between industry and policymakers to ensure the viability of automotive manufacturing. – Named
