European Automotive Industry in the Century of Asia

air pollution in the automotive industry are the CO2 emission limits for cars and vans placed on the market, which are to be reduced to zero by 2035, and the new EURO 7 emission standards, which could come into force from 2027 (the current unapproved proposal refers to 2025, but negotiations are leading to the possibility of postponing the entry into force), but also, for example, the regulation of fuel suppliers (promotion of advanced fuels – green hydrogen, synthetic fuels, advanced biofuels). As part of the ‘Fit for 55’ package, the European Commission has proposed a separate emissions trading scheme for transport, which would apply to fuel suppliers from 2027. The package also includes robust support for constructing charging and refuelling stations for electric, hydrogen or LNG vehicles (the target is 3.5 million charging stations by 2035). Sustainable finance is one of the tools to put the European Green Deal into practice. On the one hand, financial institutions will have to consider sustainability when assessing their clients’ risk; on the other hand, listed companies and large enterprises will have to disclose information on their sustainability from 2024. Later, this obligation will also apply to medium-sized companies. The promotion of electromobility in the EU depends on specific national strategies formulated, for example, based on the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive of 2014, with financial support from European instruments under the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2014-2020 and 2021-2027. An example of such a programme is the Connecting Europe Facility for Transport, which focuses on charging infrastructure (European Commission, undated). The promotion of EVs, especially direct purchases by households or businesses, has often been covered by national budgets (see Germany or France, among many others). Currently, national recovery plans through the 2021 Recovery and Resilience Facility include additional government incentives to support EV purchases and infrastructure development. Building on the US Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (White House, 2023), the EU has also committed to an industrial policy in 2023 to support the production of electric vehicles and the development of the battery industry through the Net Zero Industry Act. The proposal drafted by the European Commission in March 2023 has not yet been adopted, but it is likely to contain the outlines of the policy that will be implemented. Its impact will depend on the level and modalities of support that EU leaders can agree on. The draft sets out a roadmap for building up production capacity by 2030 to meet the EU’s domestic production quota for eight key strategic technologies, including electromobility and battery technology. A loosening of national public support rules for the industry has also been discussed (European Commission, 2023). 3.2 Regulation and Promotion of Electromobility in China China has so far lagged the EU and the US in environmental policy. For example, China introduced EURO-style emission standards five to ten years after the EU. However, China’s updated and more ambitious 6b standards shall come into force in 2023 (Reuters, 2023). In terms of CO 2 limits, the equivalent is the fuel economy regulation, which imposes relatively stringent limits on China by 2025 and 2030. In some respects, China is outpacing the regulatory environment of its global competitors and increasing pressure on the development of electromobility, which has been

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