TORINO – “And European Marshall Plan could be implemented to accelerate the renewal of the parks and therefore drastically reduce CO2 emissions”. The comparison with the plan developed by the USA to help Europe after the end of the Second World War is by the director of Renault and president of Acea, the association of European manufacturers, Luca de Meo. In his “Letter to Europe”, which is actually also addressed to individual citizens who will vote to renew the European Parliament in June, he connects this plan with the one created by the EU for the post-Covid period: “A special European fund could finance incentives for the purchase of new or used electric vehicles”. De Meo prods the EU not so much on the choice of electric, “a road on which there is no turning back”, as he had already said at the last Geneva Motor Show, but on how Europe intends to get there. On the other hand, European car manufacturers have already invested almost 300 billion euros in the transition. The goal set by Brusselswhich may be revised in 2026, is to block the sale of cars with internal combustion engines by 2035. But with “China’s onslaught of electric vehicles,” de Meo stresses that Europe’s automotive sector needs that “The EU should develop an industrial strategy, as it did to encourage the development of the aircraft manufacturer Airbus and how the Chinese did for electric vehicles.”
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Acea’s number one calls for the creation of “green economic zones” like China’s special economic zones, with companies receiving further subsidies and tax breaks to encourage the rapid development of electric vehicles. He also called for comprehensive cooperation, not just public-private, but between manufacturers, to build small, affordable vehicles in Europe. “Producing cars in Europe is more expensive”, writes de Meo, and explains that while China “seems to be distributing ever greater subsidies to its manufacturers” of between 110 and 160 billion euros until 2022 and “in the USA” 40 have been granted billions of dollars in tax credits for the development of green production technologies”, a program of this type not only “does not exist in Europe”, but rather “between now and 2030 the various directorates of the European Commission will introduce from 8 to 10 new regulations per year”. In short, for de Meo “the ecological transition cannot be achieved only through regulations and fines”.
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The Renault CEO also gives a picture of the situation based on numbers. On an average car the cost advantage for the Chinese is 6-7,000 euros, 25% of the total price. On the other hand, the shift towards Asia is tangible and with the advent of electrification the acceleration can only increase. 4% of electric vehicle sales in Europe are made by Chinese brands, in 2023 35% of electric vehicles exported around the world were of Chinese origin and in the Asian country the development cycle of a car is 1.5- 2 years, half of the 3-5 years recorded in Europe. The gap is strong. Not only an industrial problem, but also a social one. In fact, De Meo recalls that there are 13 million people employed in the sector in Europe, 7% of the total workforce of the Old Continent, with 102 million euros of positive trade balance between Europe and the rest of the world: a figure equal to French trade deficit.
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Suggestions also come from de Meo, how to best manage relations with China, because “closing the door completely would be the worst response”. It formulates seven recommendations and eight measures to develop a truly competitive and decarbonised European industrial policy: “A hybrid model”, for example involving “the 200 largest European cities in the development of the decarbonisation strategy”. Acea’s number one launches ten major European projects in strategic areas, which go well beyond the automotive industry: promoting small European cars, as he has always supported, but also revolutionizing last mile deliveries, developing charging infrastructure and vehicle to grid technology, increasing Europe’s competitiveness in the semiconductor sector.
He also intervenes on the topic the CEO of Renault Italia, Raffaele Fusilli. Fusilli’s hope is that de Meo’s letter will be accepted by the Italian government, recipient of the letter like the other executives of the Union. “The Italian supply chain, which was specialized in internal combustion engines – continues the CEO of Renault Italia – if not supported risks losing from every point of view. Now is the time to support the sector in every way with respect to Asia, throughout Europe. Then, on equal terms, we will play the first phase. By 2030, CO2 emissions from vehicles will have to be reduced by a further 55%. For this reason, together with electric, Renault believes it is necessary to expand the use of efuel and open up to technological neutrality. “The sense of urgency must be strong – concludes Fusilli, and the risk is that – without adequate policies – the European automotive sector will fall into the B series. We must be Taliban on objectives, secular on technologies, knowing full well that electric will be the technology dominant”.
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– 2024-05-06 13:45:48
