Finance
Germany urges EU to spare automakers harsher CO2 fines
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 19, 2024
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on December 19, 2024
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
Germany urges the EU to reconsider CO2 fines on automakers, emphasizing the need for investment in electromobility. EU's 2025 targets could lead to significant financial penalties.
(Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday urged EU policy makers to avoid inflicting more damage on the European Union's struggling auto industry in remarks at the start of a summit in Brussels.
"The Commission should therefore find a way to ensure that the fines, if they become necessary, do not affect the financial liquidity of companies that now need to invest in electromobility," Scholz said, referring to the EU's new carbon dioxide emission (CO2) reduction targets due in 2025.
The EU will lower its cap on automotive carbon dioxide emissions from Jan. 1, meaning at least one fifth of all sales by most car companies must be electric vehicles (EVs) to avoid heavy fines.
If they fail to meet the targets in 2025, European carmakers could face an estimated 15 billion euros ($15.62 billion) in fines, with Germany's Volkswagen, the region's top automaker, taking the biggest hit, according to the EU's car lobby ACEA.
New car sales growth in Europe turned negative again in November, with sales of fully electric cars (BEVs) dropping by 9.5% and Germany and France leading the declines.
Germany, whose economy has been heavily reliant on its auto industry, has repeatedly called on the EU for flexibility and its auto industry lobby has cited the need to narrow the gap between ambitious CO2 goals and the necessary political support and incentives.
($1 = 0.9605 euros)
(Reporting by Andrey Sychev; editing by Matthias Williams and Barbara Lewis)
The main topic is Germany urging the EU to reconsider harsh CO2 fines on automakers, which could impact their financial liquidity and investments in electromobility.
Automakers could face up to 15 billion euros in fines if they fail to meet the EU's CO2 emission targets by 2025.
Germany's economy, heavily reliant on the auto industry, could be significantly affected by these fines, prompting calls for EU flexibility.
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