Mercedes Boss urges Europe to drop the ban on the gas motor

It was only a few weeks since the CEO of Mercedes was brutally honest about his prediction for where the European car industry is going. Speak with a German business newspaper HandelsblattOla Kälenius said that the EU needs a “reality check” to prevent “going against a wall at full speed” and even “collapse”. He referred to the upcoming ban on new cars with combustion engines, which came into force in 2035.

Now, with his other hat as President of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), the Mercedes chef insists the president of the European Commission to take action against the controversial ban. In an open letter to Ursula von der Leyen, Kälenius argued that the “world has changed dramatically” since the prohibition was first announced a few years ago.

The Swedish supervisor believes that it is a “scary assumption” to think that low -carbon poor is exclusively dependent on the prohibition of new petrol cars from the middle of the following decade. In the same letter, also signed by Matthias Zink, President of the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (Clepa), Kälenius criticized the ‘Rigid car and Co from the prohibition₂ Goals. “He insists that reaching 0 g/km in just nine years is ‘simply no longer feasible’.

Yet he sees an opportunity. Kälenius claims that the EU has a “last chance” to adjust the price in next month. The issue will be discussed on 12 September during a strategic dialogue, where the prohibition could be revised and possibly delayed. Automakers within ACEA continue to be committed to achieving CO2 neutrality by 2050, but claim that eliminating combustion engines would be premature by 2035.

Not everyone agrees. For example, Kia takes on the opposite attitude. The European boss, Marc Hedrich, said Automotive news That the prohibition would “fall” would cost us a fortune. “He explained that Kia is ‘an avalanche of electric cars’, and slowing down EV to keep gasoline models alive, would harm profitability. Although Kia is not part of ACEA, her parent company, Hyundai, one of the 16 members of the association.

Earlier this year, the EU confirmed the ban of 2035, but offered car manufacturers a breathing space. CO₂ Goals that came into force in 2025 no longer have to be achieved by the end of this year. Instead, manufacturers can get the emissions for the period 2025-2027 on average, instead of touching annual limits. Nevertheless, the new goals for the period 2025-2029 are 15 percent lower than those for 2021-2024, which means that fleets have to be 93.6 g/km on average.

And that is just the beginning. From 2030 to 2034 the goal will continue to drop to 49.5 g/km. From 2035 it drops to 0 g/km, which means that car manufacturers are effectively forced to only sell EVs if the ban remains in place. These always tight limits cause headache in the industry. Stellantis, an ACEA member, says that compliance with the regulations alone consume 25 percent of its engineering hours, in which “no value is added”.

The fate of the prohibition of 2035 will have worldwide consequences that are much further than the 27 Member States of the EU. Forcing car manufacturers to leave ice sales in such an important region can reform global product strategies. Schaal advantages would be seriously influenced, so that some models with gas are not viable and even forcing brands to fully terminate them.