Germany wants to suspend fines for CO2 emissions for car manufacturers in 2025

Robert Habeck, Minister of Economic Affairs and Green Party candidate for Chancellor of Germany, does not want to impose sanctions on the ailing German car industry that could result from the European fleet limits for 2025. Habeck said this after a meeting with his Italian colleague Adolfo Urso in Berlin. He wanted to act ‘pragmatically’ during the transition and argued for ‘compensation’. As reported by Die Zeit, Habeck can imagine compensating for possible shortages from carmakers in the coming year by exceeding carmakers’ quotas in 2026 and 2027.

However, Habeck does not want to deviate from the fleet limits introduced in 2021. These set a limit for manufacturers on the CO2 emissions of their fleets sold in the EU. This value currently stands at 115.1 grams of CO2 per kilometer per vehicle; in 2025 this will drop to 93.6 grams and in 2030 to 49.5 grams. The jump from 2024 to 2025 is relatively large and will cause unrest in the automotive industry for months. In principle, the 2025 target can only be achieved with a certain share of electric cars, but sales are not developing as expected. Anyone who does not meet the limit values ​​must expect high fines. A lobby document circulating in the sector warned in September that CO2 limits could cost millions of jobs.

In addition to Habeck, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is also in favor of postponing the upcoming sentences. He has called on the European Commission not to prosecute manufacturers who exceed CO2 fleet limits by 2025. “I believe that fines should not be imposed on companies from Germany and other European car companies if they do not fully meet the CO2 targets,” Scholz said. said. “The money must remain in the companies for the modernization of their own industry, their own company.” That would be a better and more pragmatic way than sticking to the letter of the regulations.

The proposal from his vice-chairman Habeck should take the pressure off car manufacturers without losing the incentive to sell electric cars. According to the Green Party politician, the ‘settlement’ would encourage car manufacturers to reduce emissions from their fleet as a whole – without having to pay billions in fines in ‘this difficult situation for them’. And: The “lever” for European car manufacturers to “increase electric vehicle registrations” would be affordable electric models.

Volkswagen and Ford are just two examples of local manufacturers struggling with weak sales figures and the high costs of switching to electric power. Habeck also says he wants to campaign at EU level for a review of fleet limits next year instead of in 2026.

zeit.de (Habeck; in German), n-tv.de (Scholz; in German)