ECA tough on clean car policies: “An uphill road”

Brussels – Goodbye to conventional engines from 2035, for cars and light commercial vehicles that are less polluting and more tailored to the Green Deal and its sustainability goals: all very revolutionary, all very alternative, but all very impractical. The EU Court of Auditors calls into question the entire framework of the twelve-star agenda, with an assessment of mobility policies with few praises and many criticisms. Just about everything is not working, according to the auditors: batteries that are expensive to produce and sell, extreme dependence on foreign countries, unsustainable alternative fuels, and few charging points. “An uphill road,” in short, to put it in the terms used by the Luxembourg auditors.

The EU has put battery electric vehicles at the centre of its ambitious policy for a zero-emission car fleet. On this, the ECA feels the need to “reconcile the Green Deal not only with industrial sovereignty but also with affordability for consumers.” It means ensuring, “as a matter of urgency,” that the European industry can produce electric cars on a large scale at competitive prices while ensuring the security of the supply of raw materials and enhancing charging infrastructure across the continent. Which does not appear to be the case.

“The European battery industry is lagging behind its global competitors, potentially putting domestic capacity under strain before it is at full capacity,” the ECA warns in its report. At present, less than 10 per cent of the world’s battery production is located in Europe, and the vast majority is in the hands of non-European companies. Globally, China controls three-quarters of the market share (76 per cent). In addition, the EU depends for 87 per cent of its raw lithium needs in Australia, 80 per cent of its manganese needs on imports from South Africa and Gabon, 68 per cent of cobalt from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and 40 per cent of graphite from China.

But more generally, the whole policy for sustainable mobility is in question. To bring emissions to zero by 2050, according to the targets proposed by the commission and supported, not without friction, by the council and parliament, “it is necessary to decrease carbon emissions from endothermic-engine cars, explore alternative fuel options, and encourage the diffusion of electric vehicles on the mass market,” the Luxembourg reviewers note. However, “the first point has so far failed to materialize, the second turns out not to be sustainable on a large scale, and the third is likely to be costly for both industry and consumers in the EU.” In short, the intention to have clean cars is welcome, but “this ambition, commendable in itself, poses considerable challenges, with multiple obstacles to overcome.”