EU must make electric mobility more accessible to consumers

The European Commission today published its Automotive Package which will revise the car CO2 emissions target along with setting new electrification goals for large corporate fleets and incentivising the production of small electric cars in Europe.

BEUC welcomes measures aimed at making electric vehicles more affordable and new car labelling rules to clarify cars’ emissions before purchase. However, the EU should be wary of false solutions, such as plug-in hybrids and biofuels, which will only serve to make mobility more expensive for consumers. In today’s package, the Commission grants many ‘flexibilities’ to carmakers which could ultimately divert much needed investments in affordable battery-electric vehicles.

For example, plug-in hybrids are nowhere near a real option for most households. They are often priced well above €40,000 and are poorly suited to the second-hand market (where most consumers buy their cars).

This comes as BEUC research shows that new medium and small electric vehicles will very soon be cheaper overall to run than both their petrol equivalents and hybrids. The focus on the Package on incentivising the production of small vehicles is therefore good news.

Agustín Reyna, Director General of BEUC, commented: “Electric cars are a good deal for consumers and are already helping consumers to save money. Consumer appetite is also growing rapidly: almost one third of new EU car sales are now electric. This is exactly why we should be focusing on making electric cars an affordable reality for consumers, instead of getting distracted by false solutions like plug-in hybrids or biofuels. More ambitious targets for corporate fleets should increase the flow of cheaper electric vehicles onto the second-hand market, where most consumers buy their cars”.

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BEUC study on the total cost of ownership of electric vehicles.