MUNICH — The EU deal to section out combustion engine automobiles in simply over 12 years is difficult, however a extra daunting impediment will likely be making sufficient batteries to energy the electrical automobiles wanted consequently Volkswagen Group’s Chief Monetary Officer, Arno Antlitz, stated.
The remark got here after EU nations clinched offers on proposed legal guidelines to fight local weather change early on Wednesday, together with one requiring new automobiles bought within the EU to emit zero CO2 from 2035.
That will make it unimaginable to promote internal-combustion engine automobiles.
The European Fee had first proposed the bundle final summer season, geared toward slashing planet-warming emissions this decade, however the deal in a single day makes it seemingly that the proposal will change into EU legislation.
“It is a difficult objective. We predict it is doable,” Antlitz informed Reuters in an interview at Reuters Automotive Europe convention on Wednesday.
“Essentially the most difficult matter will not be ramping up the automotive crops. Essentially the most difficult matter will likely be ramping up the battery provide chain.”
Volkswagen has stated it should cease promoting combustion engine automobiles within the area by the goal, however some automakers additional behind within the race to develop EVs resembling Toyota might wrestle to satisfy the goal. The Japanese automaker declined to touch upon Wednesday.
Main automakers have been racing to safe battery cell provides however discovering sufficient battery uncooked supplies could also be a much bigger drawback.
Failure to acquire satisfactory provides of lithium, nickel, manganese or cobalt may sluggish the shift to electrical automobiles, make these automobiles dearer and threaten automakers’ revenue margins.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares stated final month that he expects a scarcity of EV batteries will hit the auto trade in 2024-2025 as producers attempt to ramp up electrical automobile gross sales whereas nonetheless constructing new battery factories.
The settlement in Luxembourg got here after greater than 16 hours of negotiations, with Italy, Slovakia and different states wanting the phase-out delayed to 2040.
Nations ultimately backed a compromise which stored the 2035 goal and requested Brussels to evaluate in 2026 whether or not hybrid automobiles may adjust to the objective.
The 2035 proposal is designed in order that in principle, any kind of automotive know-how resembling hybrids or automobiles operating on sustainable fuels may adjust to it, so long as it means the automotive has no carbon dioxide emissions.
The Fee’s 2026 evaluation would assess what technological advances have been made in hybrid automobiles to see if they will adjust to the 2035 objective.