Bernd Gottschalk, president of German automotive industry trade association Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA), has said he hopes the European Commission will propose legislation for different CO2 limits for different classes of vehicle, rather than blanket limits.
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In an interview with the German motor industry newspaper, Automobilwoche, Gottschalk said he thought there was a growing chance for different limits and that, during his last meeting with EU representatives, he formed the impression that a limit of 120g of CO2 per kilometre (average of all vehicles sold) was no longer being considered.
Gottschalk thought that an announcement would be made this week. The European Commission has postponed an announcement on proposed CO2 limits legislation twice, because of a dispute between EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas, who is in favour of a blanket limit of 120g CO2 per km, and industry commissioner, Guenter Verheugen, who has been arguing that this is at odds with his proposals on improving European automotive industry competitiveness in connection with the CARS21 programme.
The CARS21 programme found that an ‘integrated approach’ to CO2 reduction is cheaper than imposing limits. The integrated approach includes improving infrastructure, increasing the availability of cleaner fuels, ‘eco-driving’ and national fiscal legislation to adjust demand. The European automotive industry argues that fiscal measures would allow demand to be adjusted in favour of vehicles with lower CO2 emissions, while allowing supply to adapt accordingly.
Mandatory limits have been put on the agenda after the European automotive industry failed to put itself on track to meet a voluntary target of an average of 140g CO2 per km by 2008. The agreed voluntary target for 2012 is 120g CO2 per km, exactly the same level that Dimas wants to mandate.
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By GlobalDataThe automotive industry, particularly in Germany, has been campaigning against legislation, which it said would result in huge job losses – German currently holds EU presidency.
Premium car manufacturers – many such as BMW and Mercedes based in Germany – stand to lose most from the legislation. The only way for such cars to meet the proposed laws would be to ‘hybridise’ models, as Toyota has done with its Lexus RX, GS and ls models. The RX400h SUV in particularly is considered a success in Europe, although its CO2 emissions are still over 190g/km.
