Strategic Dialogue should raise curtain for pragmatic policy shift to achieve automotive decarbonisation goals

Munich, 8 September 2025 - Convening at the international IAA Mobility automotive trade fair, the passenger car and van manufacturers united in the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), reiterated their key messages ahead of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of the Automotive Industry with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 12 September in Brussels.

ACEA Director General Sigrid de Vries: "The meeting on the 12th should raise the curtain for a pragmatic, more flexible and technology-neutral policy approach to decarbonising road transport in meeting the Paris climate goals. The rigid car and van CO2 regulation must be adapted to reality. Being successful means delivering on all core EU priorities: economic security, industrial competitiveness, and an enabling framework that makes zero-emission vehicles the clear choice for citizens and businesses across all segments. One cannot have one without the other."

The automotive industry is committed and heavily invested in the transformation, with a plethora of new vehicle models launched to date. Yet with the EU market share of new battery-electric passenger cars at 15.6%, enabling conditions such as charging infrastructure and market stimuli must improve urgently for the market to close in on the targets set by EU law. The market situation for vans, with an electric share at 8.5%, is even more critical and needs dedicated attention. It is clear we need three separate 'lanes'-and tailored policies in each-for passenger cars, vans, and heavy-duty vehicles.

The current trade and economic context underscores, furthermore, that achieving EU CO2 targets is inseparable from strengthening industrial competitiveness and resilience. Europe remains dependent on Asian manufacturers for the battery value chain and faces higher energy prices and regulatory costs than other regions, which hampers competitiveness. Industrial and market perspective for technologies that help accelerate the transition should be reintroduced, and special recognition given to small and efficient electric car manufacturing.

ACEA members look forward to engaging in Friday's Dialogue addressing these strategic topics, as decisions taken now will shape not only the EU's road-transport CO2-reduction pathway but also its economic security and social cohesion for decades to come.

Last week, ACEA's Commercial Vehicle Board reiterated their call for the critical acceleration of enabling conditions to make meeting the 2030 targets for this segment achievable.

Notes for editors

State of the Industry

The European automotive sector is experiencing a polycrisis, a convergence of challenges that threaten competitiveness and resilience:

• Shrinking market and ageing fleet: The EU home market remains below pre-COVID levels, with 3 million fewer vehicles on the road compared to 2019. Passenger cars are on average 12.5 years old in the European Union (2023), up from 10.9 in 2013, indicating the longer use of cars with less advanced emission-reduction technologies.
• Competitiveness challenges: Higher energy costs (European industrial electricity prices are 151% higher than those in the US and 114% higher than in China - source: TML dashboard), shrinking EU share of global car production (from ~22% in 2015 to ~15% in 2024), and tariffs from key trading partners (15% duty on EU exports to the US) weigh heavily.
• Regulatory burden: The sector faces the strictest decarbonisation targets in the world and is heavily regulated in other areas as well. Reduction of red tape and streamlining of implementation is crucial to reduce manufacturing costs.
• Supply chain risks: Heavy dependency on Asia for critical raw materials and battery technologies.
• Market share grows too slowly and unevenly: The battery electric car market share for July 2025 YTD stood at 15.6% and at 8.5% for vans. Whilst some EU countries show remarkable growth, other larger market like France see shrinking BEV registrations (source: ACEA).
• Charging and refilling infrastructure: Almost 60% of public charging points for cars and vans are found in just three out of 27 member states (France, Germany, and the Netherlands).

EU OEMs remain fully committed to the transition:

• More than 290 zero-emission vehicles are available on the EU market (models manufactured by ACEA members only) and more model releases are in the pipeline. Investments have been made into battery manufacturing as well. Affordability is also improving: at the same time in 2024, only seven zero-emission vehicle models priced below €30,000 were available in Europe; today, that number has gone up to 20 (source: ACEA zero-emission tracker).

About ACEA

• The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) represents the 16 major Europe-based car, van, truck and bus makers: BMW Group, DAF Trucks, Daimler Truck, Ferrari, Ford of Europe, Honda Motor Europe, Hyundai Motor Europe, Iveco Group, JLR, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Renault Group, Stellantis, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen Group, and Volvo Group.
• Visit https://www.acea.auto for more information about ACEA, and follow us on https://www.x.com/ACEA_auto or https://http://www.linkedin.com/company/ACEA/

Contact:

• Camille Lamarque, Policy Communications Officer, [email protected], +32 (0) 2 738 73 16

About the EU automobile industry

• 13.2 million Europeans work in the automotive sector
• 10.3% of all manufacturing jobs in the EU
• €383.7 billion in tax revenue for European governments
• €106.7 billion trade surplus for the European Union
• Over 7.5% of EU GDP generated by the auto industry
• €72.8 billion in R&D spending annually, 33% of EU total