Volvo, Zunder and Wallbox join 47 companies advocating for the end of the thermal engine by 2035

European automotive manufacturers are in a critical situation, forced to develop a zero-emission portfolio for an audience that does not want to buy them. The first important date is at the end of 2025 when the CO2 limits imposed by Brussels will be tightened. If they do not reach an average of 93.6 grams per kilometer - it varies for each specific case - brands face fines that could total more than 12 billion euros.

Therefore, these companies and their lobby, the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA, by its French acronym), have expressed their disagreement with the environmental targets imposed by the EU, arguing that they would put the continental industry at risk.

However, this is not the case for everyone. According to Europa Press, the CEOs of Volvo Car, Iberdrola, Uber, and 47 other companies, including eight Spanish ones, have asked the European Union not to reopen its zero-emission target for cars and vans in 2035.

In a statement published by the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E), executives from across the automotive value chain, clean technologies, transport, and energy sectors, including the leasing company Ayvens, assert that the target set by the EU is «feasible and necessary».

«The 2035 target provides a clear direction that will allow us as companies, along with all other stakeholders, to focus on carrying out the necessary transformation,» state the executives in the declaration called Industryfor2035.org. «It also provides much-needed investment certainty about the future of the automotive industry in Europe,» they add.

Electric vehicle manufacturers Polestar and Rivian also signed the declaration, along with British retailer Tesco and Ikea's largest franchisee, Ingka. In Spain, besides the electric company Iberdrola, seven other Spanish companies such as Zunder, Wallbox or Circontrol have joined the statement.

The signatories declare they are firmly committed to the EU's climate neutrality goal for 2050 and note that many of them have made significant investments to make it a reality.

«Therefore, we ask policymakers not to reopen recently approved CO2 standards for cars and vans for 2026 and thus maintain the goal of 100% zero-emission cars by 2035,» states the declaration.

The companies also point out that the zero-emission target for 2035 received a democratic mandate from EU governments and MEPs in March 2023.

They advocate instead of reopening already agreed legislation that efforts should focus on implementing what has already been agreed upon: specific industrial policy and investment support for a sustainable local battery value chain, deployment of charging infrastructure and clean electricity supply, greening corporate fleets and retraining workers for electrification of the economy.

In this regard, they recall in the document that car and van emissions account for more than one-eighth (13%) of total greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. CO2 emissions from cars increased by 6% between 2000 and 2019.

«Modifying the target for 2035 would destabilize the framework on which companies have planned their investments. Instead, we should support the transition with a roadmap to boost electric vehicles in Spain focused on accelerating charging infrastructure and fostering demand through more agile fleet electrification,» says T&E director in Spain, Isabell Büschel.