The Financial Times anticipates the contents of a letter in which three industrial groups ask Europe for incentives, clear rules and support for local production
Money and rules: this is what they are asking of the European Parliament and the other EU institutions Stellantis, Volkswagen And Renaultthree automotive groups which, together, produce around 60% of cars made in Europe. And precisely the concept of “Made in the EU” is at the center of the joint letter that the three automotive giants sent to the MEPs, to ask for specific interventions aimed at allowing the “reshoring” of car production. That is, the movement of production activities from China to Europe.
THE LETTER
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The requests of Stellantis, Volkswagen and Renault to the European Parliament are contained in a letter anticipated by Financial Times. The timing is not coincidental: in recent weeks the European Commission has been working onIndustrial Accelerator Acta regulation aimed at strengthening the production capacity of some industrial sectors on EU soil. Among these strategic sectors there is also the automotive sector, with particular reference to the production of electric cars, which today sees China as a global leader capable of cannibalizing the European market too. The letter from the three groups to the European parliamentarians, therefore, is a real activity of lobbying in line with European rules on interest groups.
THE REQUESTS
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What the European automotive industry is asking of European politics is very simple: to encourage car production in Europe and stem the invasion from China, without however blocking imports. The idea is to implement a series of economic and legal measures in order to rebalance the scalesto make production in Europe as advantageous as that in China. Measures aimed at reduce energy and labor costs in the EU, on the one hand, and to limit the provision of purchase incentives to “Made in Europe” vehicles only. This definition, according to Stellantis, Volkswagen and Renault, should only include vehicles with at least 70% of the value produced in Europe. At the same time, the goal should be to ensure that at least 70% of vehicles sold in Europe are produced in Europe. All this translates into a kind of slogan: “70:70 in the EU27“. A specific focus, then, is asked to support the production in Europe of batteries for electric carswhich are the most expensive (but also most important) part of an EV. On this front, manufacturers are in trouble and are asking for the objectives for the production of battery cells in Europe to be postponed to 2030 (compared to the current deadline of 2028). Finally, particular attention is requested by European producers regarding electric small cars: they ask “super credits” for A and B segment electric cars produced in Europe, in order to more easily reach European CO2 emissions targets.