Mobility as a “luxury good”
Wissing fears job losses due to emissions standards
2/6/2023 3:18 p.m
Minister of Transport Wissing and the car industry agree: the Euro 7 emissions standard planned by the EU will harm the German car industry and cost tens of thousands of jobs. Greenpeace, on the other hand, is demanding that Wissing take the lead in the mobility revolution.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing and representatives of the automotive industry have warned the EU Commission against excessively strict regulation and possible job cuts in connection with the planned Euro 7 emissions standard. “Regulation must promote mobility, not prevent it,” said Wissing.
Systematic shortages due to new rules not only endanger the further ramp-up of e-mobility, but also increasingly jobs. “When vehicles become more and more expensive without more environmental protection being associated with them, mobility becomes a luxury good,” criticized the FDP politician. “We need participation in the area through individual mobility – also in the future.”
Manufacturers and industry associations have repeatedly stated that the introduction of the necessary technology to comply with stricter limit values for nitrogen oxide emissions is too time-consuming and is likely to make cars more expensive – in relation to the overall price, especially smaller models. The Commission presented its proposals in November. There are fears that a number of jobs could also disappear if demand for combustion engines falls accordingly. Volkswagen emphasized: “We share the view that Euro 7 in its current form would have negative employment effects for the European automotive industry.”
Environmental organizations are calling for a quick end for combustion engines
According to the Brussels EU authority, road traffic is the biggest source of air pollution in cities. The new standard aims to ensure cleaner vehicles and better air quality to protect the health of citizens and the environment. The aim of Euro 7 is to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from cars by 35 percent by 2035, and by over 50 percent from buses and trucks. Environmental organizations are also demanding that classic diesel and petrol engines be phased out as soon as possible.
NOx compounds were also at the center of the emissions scandal, as a result of which several cities had partially enacted diesel driving bans. “When the automotive industry warns that regulation makes vehicles unnecessarily expensive and hinders the acceleration of e-mobility, that should be taken very seriously,” said Wissing. “The EU Commission cannot, on the one hand, demand high climate protection goals and, on the other hand, prevent their achievement through regulation.” The internal combustion engine can also combine climate protection and mobility with synthetic fuels: “Europe must not prevent this technological solution.”
The auto states of Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony had asked the federal government not to accept the current plans for Euro 7. In the event of implementation, they fear considerable disadvantages for industry, according to a letter from the Prime Minister to Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The directive is to apply to newly registered vehicles from July 2025. The European Parliament and EU states must agree to the proposals, negotiations are underway.
Renault boss: up to 300,000 jobs at risk
Theoretically, the concept of the Commission can still change quite a bit. In an open letter to the EU leaders, the chairman of the European car industry association Acea, Renault boss Luca de Meo, called an expected increase in costs for vehicles due to Euro 7 of between seven and ten percent. Up to 300,000 jobs could be at stake. The German industry association VDA and individual companies were also critical of the project. Volkswagen also spoke of “completely unrealistic time targets”. Manufacturers and authorities could hardly implement these as quickly as required. The strictness of the standards would “tie up large human and financial resources that we could use more sensibly and in a future-oriented manner for electrification”. The price estimates given by de Meo are correct.
The automotive industry also complains that the criteria for emissions tests under the new standards are far too specific. “The air quality is not helped if we make the exhaust emissions of a new combustion engine with full throttle and horse trailer in first gear on a mountain pass in the Alps the measure of things,” said VW. The real use looks different – while the required new exhaust technology “should make cheap small cars significantly more expensive”.
A BMW spokesman told the “Automobilwoche”: “Euro7 should above all regulate pollutants and not be instrumentalized for an earlier end of the combustion engine. This would make the product range unnecessarily expensive.” Some experts also emphasize that overly ambitious cleaning technology is particularly important for small cars, and expect mobility to become more “elitist” in the future.
Greenpeace, on the other hand, demanded that car manufacturers have to help zero-emission drives achieve a breakthrough in the coming years. “If Wissing wants to ensure long-term secure jobs in the industry, then he should do everything to put the German car industry at the forefront of the mobility revolution,” explained traffic expert Benjamin Stephan. “More ambitious emissions standards will help.”