BMW Chairman Oliver Zipse has said the EU ban on the production of internal combustion engines due in 10 years will hit the European car industry hard.
Speaking at the 2024 Paris Motor Show, he called the 2035 deadline for stopping production of all CO2-emitting vehicles “no longer realistic,” Mandiner writes, adding that the law will result in “a massive shrinking of the industry as a whole.” Other car companies, such as VW and Renault, have also called for the emissions deadline to be reviewed.
Lack of demand and Chinese competition have both been a big issue for EVs in Europe, as well as German car manufacturers struggling to make the transition to producing them.
Zipse emphasized the need to reduce reliance on Chinese-made batteries and allow for other alternative technologies and fuels. The BMW head is known for pushing for e-fuels or biofuels and hydrogen fuel cell cars to be permitted, Reuters points out.
“To maintain the successful course, a strictly technology-agnostic path within the policy framework is essential,” he said.
This year, only one-fifth of the exhibitors in Paris are Chinese versus half in 2022, and BMW alone will present 15 electric vehicles.
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The concern that Chinese car manufacturers will choose Eastern European countries for production is also warranted, as battery factories are already present in both Poland and Hungary, and it makes sense to have car manufacturing close by. EV maker BYD is already in Hungary, along with Chinese e-battery company CATL.
Another concern, pointed out by Carlos Tavares, chief executive of Stellantis, which owns Fiat, Citroën and Vauxhall, is that import tariffs on Chinese cars pushed by the EU would simply result in Chinese companies producing their cars here in Europe, hurting domestic brands.
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