Germany’s VDA welcomed the Franco-German position on EU auto rules but wants battery localisation delayed and more CO2 flexibility
Germany’s automotive industry association, the VDA, has backed the Franco-German position on the EU’s Industrial Accelerator Act and Automotive Package as an important signal, but says it falls short in key areas. The VDA wants mandatory battery localisation pushed back to 2031 and more CO2 flexibility than Paris and Berlin agreed.
“Further discussions and adjustments are therefore needed in the negotiations within the Council and Parliament,” said Hildegard Müller, President of the VDA. “The fundamental agreement between Germany and France must now be transformed into common and concrete European rules that enable climate protection, mobilize investment, and secure industrial value creation and employment in Europe.”
On localisation, the VDA says European battery cells and components should not be mandatory for passenger cars before 2031, rather than from 2028 as proposed. It warns that an earlier start could leave some European-built EVs with high local value ineligible for subsidies. It also says both the Commission’s draft and the Franco-German paper overlook the specific needs of commercial vehicles and buses.
On CO2, the VDA supports the 90% reduction target for 2035 and the recognition of vehicles running only on renewable fuels as zero-emission. It wants credits for renewable fuels and green materials introduced early, and averaging to start in 2028 for five years without a cap. It also argues that a three-year pause on the stricter plug-in hybrid utility factor is too short, and it continues to reject binding corporate fleet quotas.
The deal’s scope covers the EU27 and, under conditions, the UK. That leaves out Japan and Türkiye, which Toyota lobbied the same day to include, though the VDA’s call for narrowly defined exceptions leaves the door ajar.
Source: VDA
Source: www.automotiveworld.com
