ACEA calls for European Commission 90% CO₂ emissions target for 2035 to be reviewed

The European Commission’s decision to change the 2035 CO₂ emissions-reduction target from 100% to 90% should be reconsidered, according to ACEA (the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association). The organisation is currently chaired by Ola Källenius, who is also chief executive of the Mercedes-Benz Group.

According to Källenius, although the new targets appear to allow the continued sale of cars with combustion engines, they would require the resulting CO₂ emissions to be offset. This would be achieved through mechanisms such as synthetic fuels, sustainable biofuels or the use of low-carbon steel produced in Europe.

Responding to journalists in Brussels, the ACEA president said these mechanisms could make the 90% emissions-reduction target a concealed 100% target. In Källenius’s view, the offsetting system would effectively reinstate the 100% requirement.

“Even with the proposed offsetting mechanisms (…), the Commission’s proposal for 2035 retains the 100% emissions reduction as the compliance threshold for avoiding penalties.”

• ACEA statement

The executive warned that, if introduced as currently proposed, these measures could distort Europe’s new-car market and risk triggering a collapse in demand. He also cautioned that regulators could undermine the automotive industry’s economic foundations through an overly rapid transition to decarbonisation.

Greater flexibility for ACEA and European CO₂ targets

Källenius believes European regulators should consider broader emissions-reduction mechanisms, including measures for the roughly 250 million vehicles already on Europe’s roads. One option would be the wider use of synthetic fuels, which are carbon-neutral.

He also called for manufacturers to be given more time to adjust to the new targets. The European Commission currently proposes a compliance period based on a three-year average, from 2025 to 2027, but Källenius argues that this should be extended to five years.

“We are not debating whether we should move forward with decarbonisation and electrification. We are debating how to get there,” he concluded.

Regarding the “Made in Europe” initiative, presented this week as part of the Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA), he supported its aim of strengthening European industry. However, he warned that the rules currently being proposed are excessively complex.

Other reactions to the European emissions targets

Criticism of the new European approach to emissions targets has also emerged in Portugal. During ACAP’s annual results meeting, Pedro Lazarino, the association’s vice-president and Stellantis Portugal’s managing director, said the message conveyed to the market had been contradictory.