The EU plans to ban new internal combustion engine car sales by 2035 to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, impacting its auto industry. The transition to electric vehicles (EVs) faces challenges, including infrastructure development and competition with China, as Europe aims to maintain its automotive manufacturing and meet climate goals.
The EU voted to ban new internal combustion engine car sales by 2035, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050. This EV transition disrupts Europe’s auto industry, which lags behind China. The EU imposed tariffs on Chinese vehicles in response. The challenge now for the EU is to maintain a leading automotive manufacturing industry while achieving the carbon neutrality targets it has set itself.
The electric car, a major change for the European automotive industry
The ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine cars from 2035 marks a major step forward in the EU’s climate strategy, given that 15% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Europe come from passenger cars. The success of this ban is not guaranteed, however, as it depends both on the transition by carmakers to 100% electric ranges (Battery Electric Vehicles, BEVs) and on the development of suitable infrastructure to encourage their purchase by European users.
The European automotive industry represents 7% of the EU’s GDP and is one of the continent’s last industrial bastions. Europe’s ability to produce its own electric vehicles (EVs), over and above its climate objectives, therefore represents a major economic challenge. Despite their growth, sales of BEVs in Europe are still insufficient to achieve the objective of 100% electric vehicles by 2035. BEVs, the only vehicles authorised for sale from…
