European carmakers under pressure as electric vehicle sales fall
European car manufacturers are preparing for possible fines of up to 15 billion euros due to insufficient sales of electric vehicles, said Renault Group CEO L. de Meo, News.Az reports citing Neftegaz.RU News Agency .
According to him, companies are currently accepting orders for cars that will be delivered in 2025, and if sales of electric vehicles remain at the current level, the European industry will have to pay a fine of 15 billion euros or abandon the production of more than 2.5 million cars with internal combustion engines .L. de Meo also clarified that, in accordance with EU rules, CO2 emission standards for car manufacturers are determined based on the ratio of sales of cars with internal combustion engines and electric cars.
He noted that each electric car sold compensates for the sale of four conventional cars.
In August, only 12.5% of cars sold in Europe were electric vehicles, which is 10.8% less than in August 2023. According to L. de Meo, the reason for the decline in demand is the high prices of electric vehicles amid the uncertainty of maintaining state subsidies for their purchase, especially after the abolition of such subsidies in Germany. He also drew attention to the slow development of charging infrastructure.
The head of Renault called on European authorities and institutions to show flexibility and not punish manufacturers with fines, noting that without growth in electric vehicle sales, various related projects, such as traction battery factories, will also be at risk.
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