The European Parliament's approval, with difficulty, has arrived for the plan that should lead to the cessation of the sale of heat-engined cars on the continent by 2035. A more 'gradual' transition is planned for the 'Motor Valley' industries. The path of the measure is still long, the discussion continues in the European Council and the European Commission.

A car market that from 2035 will no longer allow the sale of cars with combustion engines. The 'Fit-for-55', one of the most debated and long-suffering pieces of the European Green deal, is the package of measures that aims to help cut CO2 emissions by 55% across the continent by 2035 in order to comply with the plan to make Europe climate neutral by 2050 by accelerating the transformation of the automobile industry towards electric power.

An acceleration that, according to many observers and industry representatives, risks being too fast. The package has passed the European Parliament's scrutiny with great difficulty and can in fact be considered as a first 'yes' to the transformation of a market from which cars equipped with diesel, petrol and LPG engines will have to leave the scene. That of the European Parliament is to all intents and purposes a step forward for the transformation of the car market and European mobility, now the negotiations continue in the European Council and the European Commission.

The discussion that has been accompanying this package for many months has also reached the benches of the European Parliament and has led to a series of amendments, including an intervention that is particularly important for the Italian industry, which goes by the name of 'save Motor Valley' and which has won the consensus of the majority in the approval of a derogation from 2030 to 2036 on the application of CO2 emission levels applicable to smaller automotive companies (up to 10,000 vehicles per year).

Other amendments aimed at reducing the impact of the 'Fit for 55' at the level of industrial conversion were not accepted by the Brussels Chamber. In particular, the Parliament debated the proposal to lower the CO2 emission reduction obligation by 2035 from 100% to 90% of the vehicle fleet, which would thus still have left room for cars with combustion engines.

The ultimate goal of the Fit for 55 package is clearly to arrive at 2050 without any more fossil-fuel powered cars, and the Parliament's choice is to ensure that the industry is in a position not to introduce any more cars with this motorisation after 2035. It remains to be seen, and this is the most important component, what measures will be taken to support an industrial transformation for the automotive world, which has to face competition from countries that have long been investing in the challenge of the transition to electric cars.

Article from: ESG360